All My Friends are Heathens
by Shibalyfe
Summary: The Ministry has enacted a marriage law and is intending to make examples out of their marriages. Can they find happiness in their forced marriage while being a show pony for the Ministry? They must get over their prejudices and feign happiness at the very least or face punishment from the Ministry.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hello Everyone! This is my first fanfiction and I would love any feedback that you could give. Please don't be harsh, but please be honest! I don't own any of the characters. The amazing J.K. Rowling does, but I hope you like where my ideas have taken them! I really hope you enjoy the story._

Chapter One

Draco looked himself over in the mirror. He was dressed impeccably, not that that was a surprise. He was wearing tailored black robes that hugged his body closely, eluding to the masculine shape that hid beneath his robes. He wasn't wearing his most expensive robes, but a meeting at the ministry didn't call for anything nicer. This was perhaps already too overdressed for that place filled with mindless wizards and witches doing the bidding of whatever the ministry asked of them. He sneered at the thought of how many 'good' witches and wizards followed the corrupt Ministry when the Dark Lord was in control of it.

The Ministry had been so corrupted, Merlin, the whole bloody wizarding world had been so corrupted, so entangled in the mess, that the Ministry had forgiven almost everyone in the attempt to start over. Everyone had bloodied their hands in this war, whether they had wanted to or not. The Ministry had questioned everyone, with truth serum of course, to find out everyone's motives. Almost everyone, was guilty of committing heinous acts to protect those that they loved. Even the Malfoys had been excused for their crimes, once Draco was out of The Dark Lord's clutches, his family quickly turned their backs on The Dark Lord and did everything they could to help The Order in winning the war. It was concluded that the Malfoy's, just like everyone else, had been trying to protect their family. During the war, some were manipulated by the Ministry and other's manipulated by The Dark Lord. The Ministry decided the best route was to try and repair the wizarding world with what they had left of it, not try to rebuild everything from the ground up. They were going to make improvements to their world, but they could not afford to start completely fresh. The Wizarding World population had reached an all-time low and they could not afford to shun anyone from society if they could help it. At least, that was what they told everyone in the press release.

Thus, the ministry tried to repair the wizarding world.

Draco turned at the sound of the door opening, "Mother," he said as his eyes flicked to the witch entering the room.

Narcissa Malfoy, was a beautiful witch, she had sharp lines and a cold poise about her. Her hair was in a sleek bun and she frowned at him in worry. She was a strong and fierce women, especially when it concerned her son. He knew that she was worried about this meeting with the ministry and what it would mean for their family. She rushed to over to her son. Her arms enveloping him in a quick hug.

"My son, we must go, we cannot afford to keep the ministry waiting," she said as she brushed some hair out of his face. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning sharply and heading towards the door again.

Draco gave a slight nod of his head, knowing what his mother was hinting at. While they had been excused, they still had to be on their best behavior with the Ministry. They could not afford for the Ministry to doubt their loyalty for a second.

He followed his mother out of his room and down the dimly lit hallway. It was decorated expensively, having many generations of Malfoys build upon the wealth that was currently his home. The walls a light grey, almost silver color, that gave a nod to their Slytherin roots. While the color was not dreary, paired with the dim lighting, it did have the effect of giving off a rather foreboding feeling. The sense of dread passed over Draco as he tried to keep his face looking neutral. 'Whatever happened today was going to change their lives forever' he thought while his stomach turned with unease.

He followed his mother as she turned into the ballroom, where a small group was already waiting for them. Blaise immediately joined Draco by his side as they walked closer to the group. Draco mumbled to him under his breath, "Do you know what this is all about, mate?"

"Oi, of course I do."

Draco sharply turned his head to his friend and narrowed his eyes. He met Blaise's dark ones which crinkled slightly at the corners before he burst out laughing.

"You need to lighten up," Blaise said still chuckling, "why the hell would I know why we were being summoned to The Ministry. Maybe, they had decided that they will punish us after all. We are going to floo there and they are going to cart us all off straight to Azkaban." Blaise's face changed from one of joy, to one of worry, before slipping into a mask of indifference and shrugging at Draco before turning away.

Draco thought about this. It was possible of course, there was definitely resistance from some of the wizarding world to keep their families in wizarding society. Most of the elite families, in the past, had voiced hatred for mudbloods and have held a rather superior attitude. The Ministry to combat this resistance had released all of their interviews to the public, after seeing how genuinely sorry and broken they were in the interviews, the general public seemed to accept them and moved on. This had only been six months ago, so it was possible that there were some outcries again, but they had all been contributing members of society now. His mother even threw charities to help those orphaned in the war. They were by no means guilt free or completely changed, but they were obviously making an effort. None of them even really believed in blood status, only up playing it for The Dark Lord and other pure families, all playing a sick game to not get killed. It was astonishing really, how much support The Dark Lord gained by simply picking the right member in the family to threaten. Family was of the upmost importance to the elite wizarding families and The Dark Lord was a powerful wizard, no one had dared to cross him, not directly anyway. Some families of course, did support his cause though most were controlled by fear. None wanting to take the risk of destroying their families, they had done The Dark Lords bidding. In the Malfoy's case, Draco was the one threatened. His mother would have been heartbroken if anything had happened to him, most likely killing herself. Lucius would die if anything had happened to Narcissa. It was disgusting, but all of that was illuminated by their interviews with The Ministry, so what else could they want from them?

Before he could dwell on it further, the fireplace had turned a bright green indicating that The Ministry was ready for them. They all slowly made their way to the fireplace flooing with their families to The Ministry. Draco stood next to the fireplace waiting for his mother and father to reach him so they could arrive together. His mother squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before entering the fireplace with Lucius at her side. Draco took a deep breath and followed them through the Floo.

Draco instantly heard a sharp intake of breath from across the room. He slowly looked over towards the noise. They were in a large conference room in the Ministry. Decorated in purple, with a large black and white marble table dividing the room. Thick heavy purple curtains lined the windows, letting some light spill into the room. Across the room, were several other wizards and witches. Draco slowly recognized all of them, The Weasleys, The Lovegoods, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom. His face quickly turned into a sneer, his lips turning downward into a frown. 'What was going on?' He took a deep breath and quickly put on his face of indifference, he made his way to a velvet chair and sat down. He was sitting directly across from Hermione Granger. His mother sat down next to him, while his father remained standing, keeping a protective stance between his wife and son. His hand gently resting on Narcissa's shoulders while he tried to casually reassure her.

Draco was alert and slowly let his eyes drift around the room trying to make sense of why they were here. He slowly made unintentional eye contact with Hermione Granger, her eyes narrowed at him in confusion. 'So she must not have any idea why they were here either' he mused. He slowly took in her features. Her long brown hair had seemed to become more manageable. She seemed thinner, and he quickly registered the bags under her eyes, and the overall exhausted look about her face. The war seemed to have a lasting impact on everyone. She still held herself in the same proud stance that he remembered though. Her back was straight and her shoulders were drawn together giving her the appearance of being taller than she was. Her chin was tilted up and looking directly at him, refusing to back down from his scrutiny. He just smirked and raised an eyebrow at her, which only caused her to blush and narrow her eyes at him further.

A gavel sounded at the head of the table, where Kingsley Shacklebolt sat, the new head of the Ministry. He stood up. "Everyone, please quit down, I know you are all very eager to discover why this important meeting has been called, so please quit down and we can start."

The whispers that had quietly filled the room earlier had quickly vanished. Draco's eyes searched for Blaise around the table. His eyes quickly landing on him. He was a couple seats down from him but turned towards Draco when he felt his stare on him. Blaise looked slightly paler then normal, with a slight frown featuring his face. The fact that the Minister called this an important meeting was not sitting well with Blaise. Draco slowly nodded his head at him, reassuringly, and Zabini seemed to harden his features and turned back to the ministry having accepted the reassurance Draco gave him. Draco was always the one that his friends turned to. He was the leader and he would lead them through this meeting, even though he didn't know what this would mean for them. He would stay strong. The Minister had started talking again, so Draco decided to give his full attention to the man dressed in deep purple robes, not wanting to miss a single word of what he had to say.

"All of you sitting here have been at the forefront of this past war, witnessing horrors and destruction that I cannot begin to imagine. I will not reiterate the damage this past war has wrought down on us, you are all well aware of this tragedy." He paused making eye contact with everyone in the room before continuing. "I do not wish to revisit the past today, so instead we will talk about the future and the solutions we have come up with."

The tension in the room was thick, everyone wondering why the Minister had summoned them here to talk about a solution to a war that was over with and how this solution was related to them. Everyone around the table sat stiffly, all eyes trained on the Minister as he continued speaking.

"The population in the Wizarding world is at a record low," he continued, "This is a grave problem, if we do not try to resolve it, the Britain Wizarding World will cease to exist."

The sounds of shock, horror, and worry filled the room. Draco could feel his mother grab his hand and gently squeeze it under the table, causing him to look at her. Her concerned eyes searching his face. He squeezed her hand back and then pulled it away from her. Now was not the time to show weakness. He could hear the hushed tones from the other side of the room as they started talking amongst themselves. The volume increased echoing their worry. His side of the table remained rigid and quiet.

"We have a solution to this problem, a way to prevent that from happening, but it comes at a cost." He said with great regret in his voice. This shocked everyone into silence as the Minister continued, "This is a great cost that directly involves all of you. As I have mentioned, the population is at an all-time low. The council and I have agreed that a Marriage Law must be put into effect."

Everyone in the room gasped and an angry murmur filled the air. Draco's head started throbbing. 'A marriage law? That is absurd, there hasn't been one in place in centuries.' He could hear cries of protest echoing throughout the room. People angrily yelling their outrage. Voices shouting over one another to cry out in anger. The noise steadily becoming louder and louder, a crescendo of anger clouding the room.

"Enough," the Minister barked before the sound level could become unbearable. He waited until the rooms was silent again before continuing with his explanation. "This law will help save the wizarding world. I know it is a lot to ask of you all, and I know that you have all given up so much for the war, but the one year anniversary is fast approaching us and the wizarding world is doing nothing to ensure that we continue to thrive. Even though the war is over, the Britain Wizarding World could be the final fatality of this past war, if we do not try to redirect the course of destruction we are on. This marriage law, is the only way to save our population. All witches and wizards between the ages of 18 and 30 will be married by a Ministry chosen spouse and required to reproduce, this will help our numbers grow stronger and ensure that in the coming decades we will survive. This is not a law that we take lightly. We want everyone to have a successful marriage, and we have weighed out every single factor when making this decision, we have come up with a formula to ensure happiness and compatibility in these marriages."

Draco glanced around the room and saw variations of anger and shock on everyone's faces. He stared across from him at Hermione and saw a small frown on her face and her eyes scrunched in concentration. He could tell that she was lost in that head of hers, trying to figure a way out of this no doubt. She barely contained her trembling, from fear or anger, he couldn't tell.

"And that is the reason we have called you all here today." He heard the Minister say and quickly turned back to him. "We have already decided on suitable matches for all of you." Draco felt his body grow cold and stiffen at his words, the feeling of dread in his stomach grew to encompass the rest of his body now.

"With you lot," the Minister said with a movement of his hand toward them, "we will also be accomplishing another task of saving our world. All of you were at the forefronts of this war, some very publically on The Order's side." The Minister took a deep breathe before continuing. "Some prominent figures for Voldemort, despite the changing of alliances in the war, they are still viewed darkly. We need to prevent the division of our people again, prevent another war from brewing; we need to be a united front, and we will achieve that through you."

His voice hitting everyone like a ton of bricks. It felt like Draco was drowning, he was having trouble breathing and his throat seemed to be constricting around him. His head throbbed at what this meant. He was going to be paired with someone in this room and by the implications of what the Minister was saying, it was going to be one of the Gryffindors. He let out a slow hiss of breath and was about to say something when a strangled cry came directly across from him.

Hermione quickly stood up, her chair flying behind her and toppling over from the sudden movement. "You cannot be serious," she shouted, "I have fought for this war, I have given up many freedoms for this war, but now not only do you want me to give up my freedom of choosing who I marry, but you want to turn me into a show pony?!" Her eyes angry as they darted around the room, settling on Malfoy she gestured at him. "How could we have anything in common, how could a pairing with anyone on that side of the room make me happy?" She yelled, she turned her angry eyes back on the Minister. "I understand that they have been forgiven and I understand the ultimate part that they played in the war ensuring our victory, but we cannot have anything in common."

"Ms. Granger, I understand your concerns, but I assure you that we have a formula all worked out, and that you will be very happy if you only allow it," Kingsley responded to her.

"I'm already dating Ronald. I am happy already," she bit out at him venomously.

"That is an unfortunate sacrifice that you will ultimately have to make."

Draco glanced at Ron and found him very quit, his eyes were fixed on the table but his face was a dark shade of red. He looked like he was barely containing his rage. He glanced up at Draco and gave him a heated glare. Draco threw him a lazy smirk, amused by his inability to control his emotions.

Hermione slammed her fist down on the table making him jump. "I don't want to make any more sacrifices, haven't I lost enough?" she demanded.

"Miss Granger," the Minister said sharply, "You will remember your place. We are not doing this to punish you. We are doing this for the greater good of our world. We would not be resorting to such measures if we had another way to guarantee our survival in the coming centuries. Since this is not a decision we have made lightly, we have done everything to ensure the happiness of those involved. We did take in to account all previous relationships when making our pairings, unfortunately none of those pairings were favorable," his words laced with a hint of regret. "Furthermore, this is not a request."

He saw Harry and Ginny glance at each other before the sheweasel burst into tears. Her sobbing filling the room, laced with despair, her tears and cries mirroring everyone's thoughts gathered around the table. Hermione slowly picked up her chair and sat back down. Her shoulders now slouched in defeat at Kingsley's words. He could see the shimmering in her eyes, as she quickly blinked trying to stop the tears from overflowing. She took a couple of calming breathes before fixating on a spot on the table and staring at it. He glanced at Harry and saw that his face looked haunted. His face grimacing at every sob that the weasel made. His face paling more and more by the second. Draco leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. His one hand smoothing over his own face. 'So this would be their punishment,' he thought darkly to himself.

"I know that this may come as a shock to all of you and I truly am sorry for everything that you have gone through, but as Miss Granger pointed out, you will all be the examples of this law. You will lead the rest of this world out of the bleak future that we are currently headed towards. The wizarding world will be looking to you for guidance, and I expect you to ensure them that embracing this law with open arms is the only solution," he said pointedly. "There is no way around this law, if you try to flee or refuse, you will be stripped of your magic and memories. Your pairings will all be solidified by a binding ceremony, I do not need to tell the serious consequences that accompany this ceremony if you do not follow your oaths. Next week I will announce it to the rest of the world, and you are expected to attend the announcement happily with your partners," he said threateningly. He looked around the room waiting for acknowledgement from everyone before continuing. "Now I have all of your pairings, but I do want to make all of the rules clear before I give them to you. You will not do anything to harm your partner, the binding magic will backfire on you. You will live with your spouse, in a new home, that we have provided you. You will be seen out in public together at least two times a week. The binding ceremony will be performed today for everyone's safety, but you will be required to have a wedding ceremony at six months' time the latest. You will be expected to lay with your partner and you will be expected to have children. We will not be monitoring those activities right now, but," He said with a grim face, "do not make us have to."

His meaning was clear. We had to produce children or they would become more involved in our lives then they already were. Draco grimaced, we would be nothing more than puppets for the Ministry.

"These rules are exclusive to this group, and as such are very confidential. If word gets out that your pairings are not as solidified as they appear, then it could undermine the whole law and what we are trying to achieve here. We cannot allow that to happen. You will all be making an unbreakable vow before you leave this room to ensure the confidentiality of this information. There are more stipulations that we must go over before we get on with the pairings and the ceremony."

Kingsley explained the law and the rules that the rest of society would have to follow. We cannot cheat, we cannot harm the other person, we must sleep in the same bed, we must dedicate at least two hours of our day for pair bonding. Kingsley droned on and on. Our lives were basically going to be changed, we would have to be solely dedicated to our new partners and we had to be happy while doing it.

Draco quickly lost interest in all of these rules. He was never one to follow them anyway. He knew he would have to with these, but he would get a copy of the laws and read it when his head did not feel like it was going to explode. He looked across the table again and noticed all of the 'war heroes' where in some state of quiet distraught. Granger was still staring at the table, not moving, barely blinking biting her lip. She was clearly in a daze. The weasel's face was still bright red and he was clenching and unclenching his fist while staring at Kingsley. 'He looked like he was ready to lunge at him,' Draco thought with a smirk, 'That would be a sight to see." He continued down the line of 'war heroes' and saw that the sheweasel was still silently crying now. She had folded in on herself, becoming as small as possible. Harry Potter looked pale. 'Never thought he would see the day the golden boy was being used like a puppet," he thought darkly. He turned away from Potter and turned to Luna Lovegood. She was always a weird witch, but it seemed she was taking the news fairly well. She still had a grin plastered across her face and she seemed to genuinely be happy. She was still giving her upmost attention to the Minister. The only outward sign of distress she was giving was twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Neville, sitting beside her, was green and clammy. He looked like he was going to barf.

Disgusted, Draco turned his head to take in how his friends were fairing. He slowly worked his way down the line of Slytherins and smirked proudly at them. None of his friends displayed any emotions, all sat there rigid, and waiting dutifully to hear their pairings. His friends had all been prepared for the day they would be told to marry. They were all raised to expect an arranged marriage, and really that is all this was. The old wizarding ways engrained into them since birth didn't allow for them to wallow in their misery. They would respect their new partners and help create an amicable life together. They had been trained on how to be good husbands and wives. Trained in ways to get their arranged spouse to accept them and become willing of their alliance. While playing obedient lap dog for the Ministry was not something that they had expected, they were still prepared for it. They were all waiting for the day that they would be punished by the Ministry and this day had just come. The elite knew how to keep appearances up, they knew how to play happy family in society, so it really wasn't much of a sacrifice. He looked at his mother. She sat stiffly beside him, but no emotion betrayed her face. She felt his eyes on her and reached for his hand under the table again. "Now, your pairings." He heard Kingsley say. Everyone in the room suddenly at attention. He drew in a shaky breath and turned his head back to the Minister.

"I will announce your pairings and you will each meet at that end of the room." He gestured to where a large man in ceremonially robes stood behind a golden podium in the corner of the room. "You will then perform the vows of the binding ceremony. Once everyone has performed the binding ceremony, we will then discuss the order of the wedding ceremonies in a few months' times and give out the keys to your new houses." The Minister's face was contorted into a stern expression, as he paused for breath his expression smoothed out and he smiled. "Now the fun part, "he said cheerily trying to lighten the mood.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the sudden cheerfulness. The Minister was not a bad guy, he had done a lot of good for their society, but his bright mood just darkened everyone else's. It was like he was mocking their unfortunate fates. Like he was downplaying how drastically this was going to impact the rest of their lives. Draco rubbed his hand on his face again, suddenly exhausted with today's events.

"Mr. Harry Potter," Kingsley said. Everyone's breath caught in their throat to hear who The Chosen One would be paired with. "You will be paired with Daphne Greengrass, please head over to the podium, we will all bear witness to your binding."

Ginny started crying loudly again. Draco felt sorry for her, he really did. It could not have been easy for her to go from dating the boy-who-lived to having to witness him giving his life to another witch in under an hour. He saw Hermione get up and silently move towards the youngest Weasley offering her support in this difficult time. She wrapped her arms around her and looked towards the podium gravely. Draco saw Daphne walking towards the podium with silent confidence, her lips set in a grim line. This was a cruel thing that the Ministry was doing. This was all sprung on them so fast, how could they do anything but resent their partners.

Potter made his way over towards his new partner and offered out his hand to Daphne. She gently placed her hand in his and they slowly shook hands. Draco wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. They were going to be bond together and they just shook hands like it was a business meeting. 'I guess it was,' he thought bitterly to himself, 'just business to the Ministry. Our lives will be forever changed, but the Ministry doesn't care. Nope, nothing but business to them.' He shook his head sadly but kept his eyes glued on the couple.

The official grabbed both of their hand in his and started the ceremony. He started speaking in Latin, too quiet to be heard to everyone in the room, but they could feel the old magic in the room. The air thickening and cackling with the power. The official then placed both of their hands in each other, while he made symbols above their heads. The magic started swirling around the couples clasped hands. The magic in the room started growing and glowing around them. The official's movements became more frantic above their head. The magic drawing closer and closer to their clasped hands, encircling their wrists and arms. The magic shimmering as it moved over their combined bodies. Everyone in the room could feel the magic growing stronger, it caused Draco's hair to stand up from the powerful electrifying magic in the air. As the magic grew more potent it began to glow stronger, growing brighter and brighter with the officials words. The magic was so bright around their combined hands, it was getting hard to look at. Suddenly the official stopped all movement, not talking and no longer gesturing over their heads, the magic responded and stopped swirling around them, it let out one more bright pulse of life and then drew even tighter to their hands, looking like it was tethering them together. The light slowly began to fade around their combined hands and eventually went out.

Everyone in the room was frozen, including Harry and Daphne, they both stood with their hands clutching each other. They stared at each other with wide eyes as the power of the ceremony washed over them. The official patted both of their shoulders and then turned them to face the rest of the people in the room. The minister began clapping.

"Wonderful example of how the ceremony is supposed to go. Congratulations!" he said with flourish. "Please, come sit down and we will continue on with the next pairings."

Slowly Harry Potter and Daphne made their way to their seats. Harry paused behind Ginny and brushed his hand along her shoulder before squeezing it. He saw her draw in a shaky breath and turn towards him. Her hand found its way to his hand on top of her shoulder, and she patted it while a sad smile graced her face. He saw Harry rub his hand slowly down her arm before turning away to his chair. If Ginny and golden boy could move past this then the other war heroes would accept this and would put on a brave face for at least the rest of the meeting.

Slowly, one by one, the Minster called off the names of the pairings and the ceremony was performed. Ron Weasley and Pansy Parkinson. Theo Nott and Luna Lovegood. Neville Longbottom and Tracey Davis. Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley. Each ceremony crackling with the same magic as the first ceremony. Each ceremony reminding them that there was no escaping this powerful magic that bound them now.

Draco's name was the last to be called. He met the eyes of the witch across the table from him, the only other name that had yet to be called. Her brown eyes met his with disbelief. Even as she heard her name being called as his partner, shock crossed her face. He slowly got up and walked his way towards the end of the table. He grabbed her hand when she met him at the end of the table and bowed over it, placing a light kiss on the back of her hand.

"My dear," he said mockingly. He could see her eyes narrow and the anger that flashed behind them before she tried to jerk her hand away. He tightened his grip on her hand, not allowing her to remove it from his grasp. Instead he drew her closer to him and placed his hand on her back, leading her over towards the official.

The ceremony was performed just like the rest of them. Their clasped hands, forcing them to look at each other. Their eyes boring into each other. He could feel the power of the magic surrounding them and filling them up with the magic that would bind them forever. He could feel it wash over his body, the magic making him feel more powerful than he ever was. As the ceremony ended, he could see the awe in Granger's eyes as she felt the magic enter her body. The official grabbed them by the shoulders and turned them to face the rest of the room.

As he made his way to his seat he could feel the connection he now had with Granger. He could feel her discomfort. His eyes glanced at her and he was met with her frightened eyes. She could feel their connection too.

"Excellent," the Minister began, "Now that all the ceremonies have been performed, we will discuss housing, we have provided housing for you bunch. You will all be living on the same street. We hope that this will help you accept this and create a cohesive married life with each other while still having the support of your friends. It is getting late so we will perform the unbreakable vow ceremony for confidentiality and then we will allow you to leave. Parent's you will be able to contact your children tomorrow but tonight we request that you leave them alone so they can get to know their partner. You will all floo into your respective houses. Tomorrow we will owl you with the rest of the information that we did not get to discuss tonight. Also, before we finish I want to inform you that these matches were made using our formulas. We decided to inform you early of your partners to help the rest of the wizarding world accept this law, but these would have been your matches regardless. Please remember that these are your partners in life now. You should be able to achieve happiness with each other if you can get over your prejudices. Now, everyone please clasp hands."

Once all of the members of the room stood and clasped hands the minister proceeded to start the incantation for the unbreakable vow. Once again, power infiltrated the room and swirled around all of their connected hands. The pulsing signifying the end of the incantation.

His mother turned towards him and touched his cheek, before turning and leaving with his father in tow. All of the parents left their children to go home, whispering promises of contacting them tomorrow, and giving them false well wishes for a happy marriage. All of the children looked strained and exhausted from the day. Draco had to admit that he was drained. This day had taken a lot out of him. Old magic was strong and powerful, and they had performed it twice today, and if that wasn't enough his whole life had changed.

The couples slowly paired off with their intended as they made their way to the fireplace. He made his way towards Hermione and placed his hand on her back guiding her towards the fireplace that would floo them to their new house. _Theirs._ What a weird thought. He had to share his life with Hermione Granger. One third of the golden trio, how fitting, that the girl that he taunted in school would now be his cherished wife he thought with a sneer.

As he made his way toward the fireplace he noticed that all of his Slytherins were performing their rightful duties in their arranged marriages. All of the men stood close to their new wives with their hands on their back guiding them. That is what they were supposed to be. The guiding force in the marriage, the protector, the ones that took care of their families. All of the Slytherin girls were grabbing onto their new husbands, letting them lead them, letting their husbands feel needed. The Slytherins were not going to be the problem in these arranged marriages. They would do their duty to ensure a successful marriage. As the couples slowly disappeared into the floo network, he could see how uncomfortable the Gryffindors were with the situation and the attention they were receiving from their Slytherin counterparts. Even he could feel how stiff Hermione felt beneath his hand on her back, the magic that bound them making him hyperaware of her discomfort.

They slowly followed the line of couples towards the fireplaces, one by one, disappearing to their new homes. The minister stepped in front of their path before they could floo to their new home.

"I do not want to add more pressure onto either of you," the Minister said quickly, "but you both will be the main couple in this movement. You will have extra responsibilities than the other couples, so you will always need to be on your best behavior. You are both smart enough to understand the importance of this law and what it will mean if you fail even in the slightest." He placed two keys into their palms and moved out of their way. He gestured for them to walk through the fireplace to their new home. His threat echoing in their heads.

Draco took a deep breath and stepped through the fireplace with Hermione beside him. The flames enveloping him in and covering him with warmth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The moment they stepped foot out of the fireplace and into the living room Hermione shrugged Draco's hand off of her back. She immediately turned on him and pointed a finger in his direction. Her eyes blazed with the flame of anger. Draco loved it when she got riled up. She was the only witch that would be able to keep up with his jabs. The only one fully equipped for a mental sparring match against him, she was after all, the brightest witch of their time.

"Don't touch me," she hissed at him, "just because we are now bound together does not mean you get to touch me!"

Draco put his hands up in mock surrender, his lips twisted in an amused smirk. "Your wish is my command, my dear, but I don't think that I will be able to keep that promise for very long, not if the Ministry has anything to say about it This is the second time in the last twenty four hours that she had cried uncontrollably," he added with a wink, "I am positive the Ministry wishes us to do more than touching."

Her face flamed, a crimson color dusting her cheeks. "You! You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach! We will never do that."

"Do what Granger?" He asked with feigned innocence. He started slowly moving towards her with a glint of amusement in his eye.

"You know what, THAT!" She spit out at him angrily. She slowly started backing up, trying to stay as far away from Draco as she could. Her back hit a cold wall that she leaned against while watching Draco cautiously.

"The know-it-all Granger can't even talk about sex," he said mockingly as he stopped in front of her. His hands went to either side of her head, trapping her against the wall. Draco slowly leaned in towards her, keeping eye contact with her, daring her to try and stop him from being near her. He could feel her breath quickening as it caressed his face. He could sense how uncomfortable she was, but he didn't care. This was _their_ future, it affected him as much as her, he would get his magic taken away too if they did not follow the Ministry's orders. Of course, Granger wouldn't see past her own morals, her own sense of what was right, to see that.

Hermione tried to stay as still as possible, uncomfortable with being this close to a boy who used to tease her mercilessly. If she moved her head forward in the slightest their lips would touch and she knew he was trying to make her feel uncomfortable. She refused to let him know that he affected her in any way. Her hands were beginning to feel clammy so she buried them in the side of her robes and started balling them into a fist, worrying the black fabric at her sides. Her heart was beating at an erratic speed and she tried to focus on breathing to calm it down to a normal pace. She had a headache from the meeting and the pounding in her ears was only clouding her thoughts even more. She needed to think of a way out of this mess. She quickly looked around the room trying to avoid eye contact and make an escape plan but Draco had other ideas. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "Oh Granger," he said, "you know we are going to be doing more than talking about sex, don't you?" He drawled out the last few words, portraying his meaning. He laughed when he saw the anger flash back into her eyes. He dropped his hands and turned away from her. He was walking out of the room, effectively ending their conversation.

She stared at him in fury 'how dare he!' She thought. She immediately spit out a retort, "I hate you, you are a vile creature, nothing but a-a-a heathen!" Draco calmly turned back to Hermione. His eyebrow shot up, he had the look of indifferent amusement on his face, but he could feel the ticking of his jaw muscle betraying his angry annoyance.

"Yes, Granger, I am nothing but an animal, a heathen, a monster, a **death eater** ," He hissed at her coldly. His silver eyes turning dark, "You will do to remember that I am not a person to be messed with. I am a powerful wizard, Granger, and I will not let my magic, my birthright, be taken away from me. I have done terrible things in the name of self-perseverance and I have no doubt in my mind that I will do them again to protect myself and my family. I do not care if I have to tie you down to perform the tasks deemed necessary by the Ministry. Both of our lives are at stake, Granger, remember that!"

With that he stormed out of the room. He didn't know where he was going in his new house, he didn't know where anything was, he just knew he had to get away from that infuriating witch. How did she not understand what was at stake? He didn't expect love and happiness, but he did expect acceptance. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. He knew this wasn't going to be easy for either one of them, neither of them even liked each other. Granger, was at the very bottom of his acceptable witches to marry list, but he accepted this as his fate. You didn't see him throwing a fit about it. He tried to calm down. He knew this was hard for her, merlin, it was hard for him too, but she had been in a relationship with the weasel. She had probably pictured marrying him and having a lifetime filled with love and happiness. Draco never had that luxury, he had always known he would have an arranged marriage. The most he could hope for in a marriage was a quiet life, living peacefully together, just coexisting. Now he could no longer hope for even that, he already knew he was going to have to fight Granger on everything. His marriage was going to be anything but quiet, his marriage was going to be explosive. Well there was nothing he could do about it, he was bound to this maddening witch.

He finally started taking in his surroundings. He was in a hallway, lit by ornate candelabras hanging from the wall. He noticed with a grimace that the walls were a maroon color. A deep red with wood crown molding creating patterns on the walls. He reached out and traced his hands over the wood. It reminded him of the walls of the manor, but less cold, less harsh then the ones at home. It seemed the Ministry had spared no expense for their puppets. They would spare no expense to make their home seem happy, even if their marriage was anything but. Draco had the sudden urge to explore this fake home. If the walls were this ornate, he wondered what other falsehoods the rest of this house held. He looked down the hallway and was almost surprised there weren't fake pictures of them on the wall. Smiling and laughing at each other, things he imagined would be staples in a real home. There were pictures on the walls, none of the _happy_ couple, but one picture caught his eye. He drew in a sharp breath as he realized what it was. It was a picture from the gardens at the Malfoy Manor. It was beautiful. It was nighttime in the picture, the moon shining down on a white gazebo by the lake. Exotic flowers surrounded the gazebo and the lake was shimmering in the background, almost as dark as the night sky. The sky was lit up with stars. It looked serene, peaceful.

His mother took great pride in her garden. She always joked with him when he was growing up that her garden was the one place that she could nurture as much as she wanted and it would never tell her to stop. Draco was hit with the memory of the first time she had said that to him, he was a young boy, about five. He had asked her why she spent so much time playing in the dirt when he wasn't allowed to play in it. She had laughed at him and had kissed his cheek before explaining that with all her nurturing and love her garden was going to grow to be beautiful, just like him. He now understood what his mother was telling him, that her garden would always need him, but he wouldn't. He leaned against the wall with his head down and eyes closed. He saw his childhood play over in his head, saw how he cherished his mother and followed her around everywhere until eventually he didn't. He saw himself spend less time at home and more time with friends. When the Dark Lord lived with them he barely acknowledged her existence, hoping the Dark Lord wouldn't see his mother as his weakness. He blinked back tears, suddenly overcome with home sickness. He would be a better son he promised himself. His mother was the one person that always saw the good in him, that always saw his potential. His mother always believing in him. His father was the opposite, he had to prove to his father that he belonged in the Malfoy line, that he could do great things. While his mother always trusted in him.

He mused at how different his parents were. His mother had her cold front she put on for the public, but at home she was a loving and caring mother. His father was demanding and calculating. Draco knew that Lucius loved him, he just didn't know how to show it. He was cold, with few words of praise aimed at Draco, and even fewer signs of affection. Draco could count the number of times Lucius had shown him affection. Nine. Nine times his father had shown him outward signs of love and not in the form of a hug. It was usually a quick clap on the back accompanied by a word of praise. His father gave love sparingly, while his mother tried to drown him in her love. They were complete opposites, but they had a happy marriage. They loved each other fiercely. Maybe there was hope for his marriage? He shook his head of his thoughts. Let's just hope that Granger accepts this marriage and then he could start to hope for a peaceful married life.

He looked down the hallway again, lined with doors on either side. He thought about exploring the house again but was drawn to the door in front of him, next to the painting of his childhood garden. The door was a deep mahogany wood, and was carved intricately with snakes that surrounded a giant dragon in the middle of the door. The dragon looked to be guarding something, but Draco did not know what. The dragon seemed to be beckoning to him. He stepped closer to the door and traced his fingers along the dragons face, marveling at the skill that it must have taken to carve something so intricately, before moving to the golden door handle. He slowly pushed the door open and stepped instead. A giant grin lighting his face as he took in the contents of what this room held.

Hermione did not move after Draco left the room. His words left her shaken at the core. Of course he was right, although she would never admit it, this did affect him too. She had to learn to accept this for both of their sakes. She had worked too hard to become a successful witch to let something like this stop her. She could not give up her magic, it meant too much to her. She had nothing left for her if they took her magic and returned her into the muggle world. Her parents wouldn't recognize her and she had lost contact with her muggle friends during the war. She would have nowhere to go, she would have no one, and she would have nothing to show for her life. She couldn't leave her friends. They were her family now, and they needed her as much as she needed them. She would have to accept this fate, but that did not mean that she would accept it right now. Right now she would mourn the loss of her future. She sat down on the plush red couch and cried into her hands.

She had lost her relationship with Ronald and her future plans in one day. She had expected to marry Ronald in a few years. She thought he would have asked her soon and she would have told him no that she wasn't ready and to ask again later. He would have asked every year, until finally one year, when she felt confident in her career and he held a good position with the Auror, she would say yes. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she tried to wash away her fantasies with her tears. She cried until she had no more tears to shed. This was not her future anymore. She allowed herself one more sniffle as she straightened up. She could not mourn forever and she could not cry anymore if she wanted to. It was time for her to get in control of herself. It was time for her to accept her new fate. She wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and wiped her nose on the arm of her robe. She bit her lip and stood, slowly taking in her surroundings.

The fireplace that she flooed into had a very large wood mantle. Each corner of the mantle held a large, carved Dragons head. It's head facing the center with its mouth open. It looked to be breathing flames towards the center of the fireplace. The flames eventually turning into swirling flowers. It was beautiful.

On top of the mantle were pictures of them with their friends. Hermione studied the pictures of Draco. He looked so much younger in all of them. He was tall, and very skinny. He almost looked lanky, very different from what he looked like now. Hermione grabbed a picture of Draco to inspect further. His face was etched with a lazy, carefree smile, and his hair blew in the wind. He held his one arm around Blaise, who threw his head back in the picture and laughed, his other arm was wound around Theo, whose smile just grew wider in the picture's enchantment. They all looked so happy, how could one go from being this happy to going down such a dark path? Hermione did not understand it. She let out a small sigh and placed his picture back down on the mantle, before looking over at the rest. There were some pictures of Draco with his friends and some with his family. In every picture he looked like a proud wizard, a man who knew who and what he was, except for one. In this picture Draco was by himself. It must have been recent, for a man, not a boy looked back at Hermione. His skinniness was replaced with strong muscles. His soft childhood face had been replaced with sharp lines and a shadow of a beard traced his jaw. He was holding himself tall, one hand was in his pocket and the other hand was bent and tucked into the front of his robes. He looked confident and tall, but his eyes seemed sad. When was this picture taken? Hermione set down the picture. She felt as though she has just learned some big secret about Draco, but what it was she didn't know and she didn't have the mental capacity to figure it out tonight.

She looked over at the pictures of herself. She looked happy in all of them, surrounded by friends and her heart ached. She wished she could go to them now, but the Minister had told them they weren't allowed to see them tonight. She wished she could talk to Harry, he always knew what to say to make things better. She needed his comfort right now. She wanted to go to Ginny, to see how her friend was holding up. To give her the support and comfort of a friend, of someone who understood what she was going through. Most of all, she wanted to go to Ronald, to have him wrap his arms around her and tell her it was going to be okay.

She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from the fireplace. The room held two large maroon couches with plush silver pillows. There were two chairs tucked in opposite corners and the walls were a deep grey with wood trim. The artwork on the walls were all in silver frames. Hermione frowned and looked around. The only colors she could see were maroon and grey, their house colors. They blended beautifully. She turned towards the pictures on the mantle and noticed how they were all integrated. Her pictures all had silver frames and his were all in gold ones. They were intermingled perfectly. She sighed and turned back around. She could only imagine that the rest of the house held this color theme. It looked beautiful, but she wish she could have decorated it herself. It was just a reminder of the two very different lives the Ministry was trying to intermix.

Hermione decided she would explore the house, after all this was going to be her home. She walked out of the living room and across the hall was an immaculate green study. It held two large wooden desks and a large bookcase filled with books. Hermione had wanted to go in there and see what books the room held but stopped herself. There were many places to explore in this house and she would have time to read the books later. She walked pass the double glass doors that enclosed the study. There were stairs that led to the second level of the home but Hermione continued further down the hall and came across the next room. It was a large kitchen. The cabinets were painted grey but the counters were a beautiful white and grey marble. There was a large island with hanging lights. Across from the island there was a beautiful long wooden table, she presumed for when they had guests over, as it was much too big for only two people. Next to the table was a large patio door. Hermione quickly made her way towards it and opened it. She stepped outside into the night looking at her new backyard. She took a deep breath of the sweet spring air and finally felt herself relax. She had stepped out onto a large deck that overlooked a beautiful flower garden. There was a wooded area to the left and further down she could see a lake. The moon shimmered across the surface making it look magical. Hermione closed her eyes and took in a few more deep breaths before she turned around and headed back inside. She already felt happier seeing all the greenery her new backyard held.

She walked back into the open concept dining room and saw another living room adjoining the dining room. She walked through it saw that it mirrored the other living room, except it did not feel as formal. She figured the other living room must really be a formal sitting room and this area of the house was now more of their living area. This area seemed more homely and comfortable. The walls were not lined with portraits or paintings but had giant windows instead. There were sheer maroon curtains that covered them but still allowed the moonlight to play across the floor. The fireplace in the center of the room had the same intricate carvings as the one in the sitting room.

Hermione could see herself living here, she could see herself sprawled across the couch with a book in hand, reading while the fireplace cackled. She could see herself cooking dinner, while Draco scowled at her from the couch, making a comment about how she was doing something wrong. She almost giggled at the thought, she had to get the idea of a normal marriage out of her mind. That is not how it would be and she knew that. Still, this house gave her a false sense of belonging and normalcy. Their predicament was anything but normal.

She continued down the hall and found a washroom and a closet. There was one more door down this small hallway. As she neared it she saw the same beautiful carvings on the door, but this one was different. In the center of the door was a lion. The head was surrounded by petals, giving the illusion that the flower had bloomed the lions head. There were smaller flowers "falling" around the lion. It was breathtaking, Hermione wished she would be able to meet the person that could create such magnificent work. Hermione had never been artistic, even though she had longed to be. She wasn't very creative, she didn't have the head for it, she had the head for numbers and facts. She slowly opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks taking in her surroundings.

The room was large and painted a deep green, there was a large fireplace in the center of the room, with one large green plush couch and gold pillows scattered across it. There was a lavish grey rug in front of the fireplace. The walls were covered in bookshelves that were overfilled with books. Hermione had only ever seen this many books at the Hogwarts's library. She stepped into the room and instantly ran to the shelves, taking in as many of the book titles as she could. She was excited to start reading, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. She still had to explore the rest of the house and the exhaustion from today's events were still heavy on her shoulders. Even the library could not save her from her weariness tonight. She would sleep and come back here first thing in the morning. She grabbed a book off of the shelf, so she could read before bed she reasoned with herself, and then left the room. Closing the double doors, she wondered if all of the houses were exactly like hers, no _theirs_ , she corrected herself. Ron and Pansy wouldn't appreciate a library she mused. She walked back to the front of the house and made her way up the stairs.

This hallway was maroon now, instead of the grey that adorned most of the walls downstairs. The walls were lined with artwork of landscapes that she had never seen. She moved her way down the hallway and opened the first door to the right. Inside was a bedroom. A guest room, Hermione thought, although who would stay here and visit she didn't know. Across from the bedroom that she just walked out of was another carved door. A dragon stood in the center of the door and she had the urge to go and touch it, but decided not to. She could sense Draco was through that door and was not ready to confront him yet. She would explore that room later. She moved down the hallway opening up occasional doors. She had discovered some closets, some more bedrooms, a washroom, and even a nursery. She rolled her eyes at that one. At least the Ministry was thorough if nothing else. She moved her way to the last door. The door had another large dragon in the center, its wings folded around a lion with a flower mane. The two magical figures were surrounded by snakes and flowers. It was a work of true art. Everything in the carving looked flawless and effortless like it belonged there. The snakes mingling with the flowers, as though they had always belonged together. It was stunning. Hermione already knew what would be behind this door but she held her breath and opened it.

The candelabras along the walls instantly flickered to life, illuminating the immaculate room she had just walked into. There was a large bed in the center of the room, with lush silver blankets and a maroon quilt. The bed was in front of another large fireplace. The walls were maroon with silver and gold curtains adorning the windows. There were three doors on the left side of the wall, she opened one and saw Draco's wardrobe. Dark grey dress robes and green ties greeted her. She closed that door and moved onto the next one. She opened this door and was welcomed with a familiar sight of gold and maroon. Her wardrobe. She smiled and walked in before grabbing a night shirt. Once she found what she needed for bed she exited the wardrobe and made her way to the next door. A large en suite was found behind the last door. Two large marble sinks, a giant soaking bathtub, a standing shower, and another closed off door that she assumed held the toilet. She washed her face in her new large bathroom and got ready for bed. She changed and headed into the adjoining room. She opened her wardrobe and threw her soiled clothes in before making her way to the bed. She threw back the covers and sank into the bed. It felt so good to be in bed, after the crazy day she just had, that she almost moaned. She felt like she was on a cloud surrounded by warmth. The silk grey comforter cocooning her as she sunk further into the mattress. She rolled on to her side and felt like she would be asleep in an instant.

Draco was busy at work in his potions room. He was chopping and cutting ingredients that the Ministry had so _generously_ provided him with. Doing meaningless tasks helped him calm down. He didn't have to think to crush beetle eyes, his hands knew what to do. He could do all of this in his sleep, muscle memory from the numerous times he performed these very tasks. He had always shown an aptitude towards potions and he had loved to make things with his hands. Potions required a precision that Draco had mastered at a very early age. Brewing potions and always helped him cool down. The familiar scents of herbs surrounded him and settled his nerves. He didn't have time to brew a potion tonight, it was getting late and he knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake to watch it appropriately, but he could prep ingredients. He could feel a calm wash over him and he didn't know if it had to do with the task he was performing or if it had to do with his connection to Granger. He felt her as she drifted off to sleep. She was content and peaceful, which allowed him to be at peace. This bloody connection was a nuisance. He couldn't tell if he was calmer because she was, or if it was his own tranquility he was experiencing. His connection with her and his own emotions were so entangled right now the he couldn't tell them apart.

He finished his task and swept the crushed eyes into a bottle, capping it, and labeling it before setting it down on the table. He glanced at the clock and blanched. How could it be one in the morning already? He tended to get lost in his work, but he was surprised that he had been able to stay upright for so long. Now that he knew the time, his exhaustion seemed to set in. His legs ached from standing for so long and his shoulders were tense from the day that he had just endured. He quickly washed his hands and exited the room. He paused just outside of the doorway, he could feel the pull towards Hermione, at the end of the hall, but he really didn't want to go there. Instead he turned and made his way down the stairs and into the sitting room they had first entered the house in. He grabbed a blanket that was draped across the back of a chair and made his way to the couch. He was too tired to argue with Hermione about sleeping in their shared room. He could feel her grow restless, almost like she could sense him contemplating joining her.

He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes, but sleep would not come for Draco. He was fidgety and tossed and turned. He didn't know how long he struggled to try and sleep before he heard Hermione enter the room. She stopped under the archway, and just stared at him. He could feel her eyes watching him, patiently waiting for his to meet hers. He sighed and slowly sat up on the couch and turned his face towards her. His eyes finally meeting her chocolate ones.

"What," he mumbled, as he took in her appearance. Her legs were bare and she was wearing a light night shirt that barely reached mid-thigh. He moved his eyes up along her body and took in her womanly shape. Her shirt was thin and he could see the hardening of her nipples, he quickly scanned past them and reached her face that held an annoyed expression.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I can't sleep now that you are sleeping."

"I'm sorry," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No," she said, "I don't think you understand. The Minister said that we had to sleep together. I was able to sleep earlier because you were not sleeping, but now that you are trying to, I cannot. So come to bed, stay on your side, don't touch me and we can maybe get some sleep tonight." She turned on her heels and headed back upstairs. Her heavy footsteps fading away from him.

He rubbed his palm across his face and got up to follow her. He folded the blanket back up neatly and placed it back where he found it, trying to buy as much time as he could. He slowly made his way up the stairs dreading how tonight was going to go. He wasn't sure if he was going to get more sleep being next to Hermione or if it was going to be even worse. He knew she would yell at him if he even breathed funny. He reached the door marked their bedroom at the end of the hallway and sighed before opening it. Revealing a large bedroom that was handsomely decorated.

Hermione was already in the large poster bed in the center of the room. Her wild hair was splayed across the silver pillows and the moonlight danced across her face. She looked like an angel. When did that happen, when did she become a women? Draco remembered the bucktooth girl that he first spotted on the Hogwarts train, her wild hair in a constant mess. This women was nothing like the girl he remembered. Draco eyed her warily as he made his way to his side of the bed.

She pointed to a door, "that is your wardrobe if you wanted to change." He nodded and switched direction of his course. He made his way to the wardrobe and entered inside. He quickly found sleep clothes and proceeded to undress. He put on sleep pants but didn't bother to put on another shirt. He was already wearing more clothes then he preferred to sleep in, Granger would just have to deal with it. Hopefully her Gryffindor sensibilities would be able to survive seeing him shirtless. He rolled his eyes at the thought and made his way out of the wardrobe.

He made his way over to his side of the bed and rolled down the covers. He got in and turned on his side facing away from her. Hermione didn't even look at him when he exited the closet. She was turned towards a window with her back to him. Pretending he didn't exist. He pulled the blanket up over his chest and snuggled into the pillows. Sleep quickly claimed him.

He woke with a start. Hermione was thrashing beside him, her limbs flailing everywhere. He looked over at her and could see she was sweating, perspiration drenching her neck and hair. Her face was scrunched up in a pained expression. He tried to push her over onto her side of the large bed, but she attacked him instead. Pounding on his chest, she shouted at him in her sleep. "Stop, Please!" His heart was pounding, he didn't know what to do. She was having a night terror, but he didn't know how to handle it. Should he wake her up? He didn't know how she would take to him knowing about her sleep terrors. He didn't think Hermione would like him seeing her so vulnerable.

"Stop! I didn't take anything, Please, I didn't take anything!" She cried frantically.

His heart stopped cold recognizing these words. She was having a nightmare of being tortured. Being tortured by his aunt, in his house. He often had the same nightmare, watching her wither in pain on the floor, screaming out for help, but not being able to do anything, while his aunt accused her of stealing and carved into her arm, torturing her all the while.

He often had nightmares of the bad things that he had to do under the Dark Lord's command, but two nightmares visited him the most. Dumbledore being killed and Hermione being tortured. Her leg flung at him again and landed a kick in his knee. The pain brought him back to the present. He couldn't help her then but he would know. He threw his arms around her and gathered her against his chest, ignoring her flailing limbs. She clutched his arm now and was digging her nails into his flesh. He felt her tears against his chest. Her sniffles filling the room. He rubbed his hand along her back while making soothing noises. He told her it was okay and no one would hurt her again and he meant every word. She was his wife now and with that came certain privileges. He would not let anything happen to her again. He pulled her closer as her sobs began to die down. He waited until she was sleeping peacefully before closing his eyes. His arms still held her and he could feel her nuzzle closer to his neck. He put his chin on top of her head and let her steady breathing slowly lull him back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The smell was the first thing that Draco noticed, cherry and vanilla assaulted his senses. It wasn't a bad smell, in all actuality it was quite pleasant and feminine. Draco stiffened at the thought before the memories of the day before flooded his head. He opened his eyes and was greeted with the back of Hermione's head, her bushy hair almost blocking his view. He could see the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders and knew she was still asleep. Draco instinctively pulled her closer. Waking up next to a women was a very different feeling for him. Draco had his fair share of women, but they were gone before the next morning. They were there for a couple hours at night, nothing more and nothing less. In the old ways it was a sign of respect, only your wife would get to share your bed the whole night. Only your wife would wake up in your arms, welcoming a new day with you, and only your wife would be allowed the protection that a man could give during the night. It was a silly tradition, but most of the old ways were. The old ways didn't care about purity, they just cared about honoring and respecting the domestic partnership with one's future spouse. The old ways ensured that you both created a bond by only allowing you to experience certain milestones with your future spouse. Draco thought it must work because he woke up feeling different than he ever has.

He felt Hermione start to stir and stiffen, probably just now realizing that they were entangled in each other. He felt her gently try to wiggle out of his grip. When that didn't work she tried to pick up his arm and physically move it from across her body. Draco gripped her tighter instead of letting her go. He felt her groan in annoyance beside him and he had to suppress a chuckle. He wasn't going to make this easy for her, if only to annoy her. Annoying her was his own little reprieve from this situation. She laid next to him silently and Draco could almost picture her thinking of solutions on how to escape his grasp.

"Trying to escape me all ready?" He whispered in her ear.

She jerked up quickly in shock and Draco let her go. He chuckled at her edginess.

"I am glad that his is amusing to you," she said, "but I don't find this amusing. I actually find it quite appalling. You were supposed to stay on your side of the bed!"

"I was supposed to, yes, but I can't help it if you tried to attack me in your sleep. You just couldn't keep your hands off of me," He said, not really lying to her. She had in fact attacked him in her sleep, but more violently and not with the intention of snuggling. She didn't need to know that.

Hermione was sitting on the bed and was turned away from him staring at the wall. She was trying to avoid looking at him. She had felt his bare chest against her cheek and did not want to embarrass herself by staring at him. She was unsure how to act in this situation. The witch who had the answers to everything had no strategy, no plan, and no idea on how to deal with a half-naked enemy waking up next to her.

"I highly doubt I attacked you," she replied coolly, "I don't attack people."

"Really? I seem to remember you attacking me quite violently in school, did I imagine it?" He countered.

"You deserved it!" She said as she turned her head sharply to glare at him, this only seemed to amuse him further and he began to laugh. "What is so funny?" she demanded.

"Nothing, I now understand why you are a Gryffindor Lion," he responded. She just narrowed her eyes at him waiting for an explanation. "Your hair, it's surrounding your face like a lion's mane, all over the place, sticking up and out." He gestured with his hands indicating just how out of control her hair was. With that comment she shot up out of the bed and ran to their bathroom, slamming the door behind her. This only caused Draco's laughter to get louder.

He rolled over on his back relaxed and feeling at ease until his mind started thinking about how today was going to go. The ministry had said they would receive owls today with further instructions. It worried him, what other restrictions could they possibly have for them? What more could they possibly ask of them? The ministry was also going to inform them of the date for their public marriage. Draco could only hope for a date further out. Not that it mattered much, he mused, a couple months would really not make that much of a difference.

He heard Hermione walk out of the bathroom and looked toward hers. Her hair was now in a neat little bun at the back of her neck. She was studying him, a small blush gracing her cheeks. He was on his back, with his arm bent behind his head, the sheets pooling at his waist. "See something you like?" He asked knowingly. He saw her eyes shoot up from where she was staring at his chest and glowered at him. He just winked at her in response.

"No," she said. "I could never admire a body, when the person associated with it is so horrible."

"I don't think that is true," he replied. Her eyebrows shot up in question. "You admired the weasel, and he was pretty terrible. His intelligence was dismal, his smell was atrocious, and I am sure his body left much to be desired."

Her cheeks reddened in anger, "How dare you," she responded to him, "You do not know anything about Ron. He is a great guy."

"Let me guess," He responded to her dryly, cutting her off, "He has a great personality and he makes you laugh. Yes, I can see the lifetime of happiness you could have had together." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Ronald is a great guy!" she shouted at him, "He **is** funny **and** nice. He's not stupid. He is better than you in every way!"

"Ah yes, Granger, he is quite a catch," Draco said mockingly, "I forgot how smart he is, how he was always at the top of our class with grades, not competing for a mediocre spot in the middle. I am convinced you are the only reason he wasn't dead last in our grade. Did you do all of his homework for him? I'll admit he is funny…..to look at at least, but he lacks the intelligence to land a truly funny joke. He doesn't quite have the wit about him…." Hermione's whole face was red in anger. She looked like she was ready to throttle his neck, but he barely paused from his assault on Ron not really caring how angry she was. "And I noticed you didn't even mention your dear Ronald's body, it is hard to tell what is beneath his baggy hand-me-down clothes that he always wears. Hmmm…. I always thought he was chubby, not really fat, but not in shape either. I don't think that Quidditch helped him much in that department because I am sure he didn't work out like he was supposed to, or I imagine it was much like how he does everything else, sparingly, if at all."

Draco didn't notice Hermione cross the room but he did notice the sting he felt against his cheek. He glared up at her and saw the black depths of her eyes reflecting her hatred for him.

"Ronald is more of a man then you will ever be! He stands up for what he thinks is right and helps his friends. All I have seen you do is run and hide!" She hissed at him. "I'm sure the only reason you were holding me in your sleep is so you could hide if there was an intruder! Poor Draco, always hiding behind someone, whether it be your father or your group of snakes! At least when I slept with Ron, he held me like I was the most precious thing in the world."

Draco's face heated from the assault on his character. He didn't know how to respond, none of that was true, Draco didn't hide. He had always protected those around him. He always had plans, whether they were known to others or not. He couldn't tell her this though, it would fall on deaf ears and honestly, he didn't feel it was necessary to defend his character against the weasel. The weasel may 'stand up' for what was right but he did so stupidly and blindly. Draco had witnessed countless times when the weasel had gotten himself into trouble by acting before he spoke. The thought of even being compared to him made him angry. He wanted to throw her nightmares in her face but he knew that was not the right route to go. Instead he grasped on the one thing Hermione said that he could easily discuss.

"The weasel is irrational and doesn't use the half a brain that he might possess," He spat at her, "and yet you have stayed the night with him?"

"Yes, I have quite a few times," she said punctuating each word with a flourish of her hand. She looked very proud of herself, "You will just have to settle for being second AFTER Ronald," she said smugly.

Draco shot up from the bed and stood towering over her. He grabbed the hand that she was waving around in the air and held it firmly. She tried to struggle out of his grip but it was no use, he was too strong.

"You are telling me that you have stayed all night with that, that boy?" He growled at her.

"Yes Malfoy, I did say that. Now let go of me!" Hermione said, still trying to pull her wrist out of his strong grip.

His silver eyes turned to dark stormy clouds in anger. He tried to maintain his usually calm demeanor, but he was failing. Not only had she insinuated that he was second best to that sorry excuse for a boy, but she had stayed the night with him and woke up beside him. "That was supposed to be my right!" He shouted at her without thinking.

"Excuse me, your right?!" Hermione whispered confused. "You can't honestly believe I was going to save my virginity for YOU? I thought I was going to marry Ronald, of course I have spent the night with him. We have been dating for quite some time and there was a WAR. I didn't think I was going to live to see nineteen!" Her anger had been replaced with disbelief. She looked up towards his face, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"Not your purity, Granger, I don't care about that," Draco mumbled quietly. Her words hit him hard. She had really thought that she was going to marry Ron. He couldn't really fault her, she was muggle born and probably didn't even know the old customs. Ronald did, but if they really thought they were going to be married, then he couldn't fault him either. He tried to figure out why he was really upset. It was a silly tradition, he had even thought so just this morning. He tried to sort out his feelings and then it hit him. She had already experienced something that was new to him. It was new and strange to him and he didn't like being the last to know things. He quickly smoothed out his features before looking down at her and letting go of her wrist. "Never mind, it doesn't matter," He said under his breath. It was true, it didn't matter, this was something neither of them wanted, something neither of them would _ever_ want. He walked off to the bathroom and heard Hermione try to say something after him but he quickly shut the door behind him.

He stared at himself in the mirror and saw that the bags under his eyes were not as distinct today. He really had slept differently last night. He had woken up feeling refreshed. His mind had been clear until Hermione had started talking. That infuriating witch could turn everything against him and would try to for the rest of their lives he concluded. Why couldn't he have just had a normal arranged marriage? He wanted to stay out of trouble and the spotlight after the war, but now he would be front and center with Granger by his side.

Draco took his time getting ready for the day, he didn't want to enter the bedroom to more questions and he knew the longer that he took, the more likely she was to have already left their bedroom. When he could stall no more, he walked into the empty bedroom and grinned. She had left him in peace. He walked to his wardrobe and changed into black slacks and pulled a grey sweater over his head. It was casual for Draco, but he did not put it above Hermione to throw something at him today and he didn't want to ruin his good clothes. They probably weren't going to be allowed to leave the house anyway. The ministry had made it clear that there first public outing would be at the celebration.

He sighed before exiting the bedroom, mentally preparing for whatever the day held. He walked down the hallway and heard Hermione talking. 'Does this bloody girl ever shut up?' He thought to himself. He could sense his normally calm and quiet days were now far, far behind him.

"Draco is still upstairs, would you like me to get him for you?" He heard her say and quickened his step. Who was in their new home and at this early hour?

"No, dear, I am sure he will be down here shortly," his mother cooed at her, "besides, we want to get to know our new daughter-in-law. Tell me, what do you think of our son, Draco? Are you happy to have made such a match? I know this is more than what you could have hoped for."

Draco quickened his pace down the stairs, almost at a run. He didn't want to walk in on Hermione killing his mother. This family visit was starting off swimmingly he thought. First some good morning hexes, then a good old fashioned fight of insults and wit, and then maybe a nice lecture from his parents on what it means to be married to a Malfoy. This day was not going to be any easier then yesterday. Hermione let out the most unladylike noise that Draco had ever heard. It was a snort, laced with contempt and disbelief.

He walked into the room and saw his mother's face and then Hermione's face as she glanced back at him. His mother's face held intense interest, hope, and worry waiting for Hermione's answer. Hermione's expression, however, was drawn into an angry scowl. He quickly decided he couldn't let Hermione say whatever nasty retort she was planning. His mother was concerned about him and the strange turn of events, he didn't want to worry her.

"My darling, darling wife," Draco sing-songed as he walked over to her, "You left the bedroom so quickly this morning, you must be famished from last night." He wasn't really lying, he was sure that she was famished, but from not eating dinner yesterday, not from the dirty things he insinuated. She turned towards him again, her face filled with disgust. If this bloody women could just be a better actress and cooperate with him he wouldn't have to take such drastic measures to curb her reactions and emotions. He mentally sighed and bent down to capture her lips. He could feel her try to back up so he put his arms around her and pulled her closer towards him.

His lips gently brushed hers, electricity dancing across his them. He quickly pulled his head away from hers and looked down into her eyes. Her eyes were wide with shock, she must have felt the same electricity that he had. How odd, he frowned. Now was not the time to deal with this though. He quickly bent down and kissed her cheeks and then moved to whisper in her ear, "Time to practice your acting skills, my dear, and you need A LOT of practice." He pulled away hoping that she got the message. As he stared down at her he could see her thoughts and emotions playing across her face, warring with each other on what she should do.

He turned towards his mother, letting Hermione figure herself out, and saw that the worry from his mother's face had been wiped away and replaced with a small smile. He put on his most charming grin for his mother. Better to let her think that they were happy and that everything was going to be okay. Who knows what trouble his mother would get into if she had thought Draco was unhappy. "My dear wife is hungry. Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Draco asked politely, hoping his parent's would not accept. He was not sure how much he would be able to control Hermione during breakfast. He could only shut her up with kisses so many time before he was sure to get hexed.

Luck was not on his side though, his mother gladly accepted. He let Hermione tour them throughout the house, letting her play the part of gracious host. Once they arrived in the kitchen he saw house elves busy at work. He immediately went to Hermione's side knowing how she felt about them. No one could forget her stunt of trying to liberate the house elves while in school. She had protested outside of the great hall, yelling at students who entered about the injustices done to the magical creatures. It was very ineffective, the students didn't care, and the house elves didn't want to be freed. Draco was pretty sure that Dumbledore had to step in and make her stop harassing students. He pulled her back against him in a hug while his lips found their way towards her ear again. "We will discuss this later. Please let it go for now, Granger." He felt her head give a slight nod. 'Good,' he thought as he let her go. But held on to her hand and dragged her to the dining room.

"Oh Draco," his mother whispered in wonder. He turned towards her and followed her gaze. She was staring out awe-struck at the backyard. Draco had to admit it was magnificent. It looked like they had been dropped in the middle of an enchanted forest, wildflowers dotting the backyard in wistful clusters. It reminded him of his mother's gardens back at home. They were meticulously planned though, not a strand of grass out of place. His backyard seemed to be guided by the spirit of the great outdoors. It was not overrun, but it wasn't neat and orderly. It looked like freedom. Draco's eyes scanned the rest of the backyard taking it all in. He noticed the patio furniture outside on their large wooden deck.

"Mother," he said as he gestured towards the furniture, "Would you like to eat outside?"

Narcissa brought her hands to her cheeks, embarrassed by getting caught looking so wistfully. "Oh, that's not my call, dear Draco, your wife is the mistress of this home, and whatever she says goes."

All eyes turned to Hermione now, who seemed to be lost in her own mind, a favorite past time of hers it seemed. It took her a couple minutes to realize that everyone was staring at her. "What?" She asked confused. Hermione caught Lucius sneer at her for her lack of attention. She turned her head and focused her eyes on Draco, hoping he would get her out of this.

"My dear, would you like to eat outside? It seems like nice day to get acquainted with our new backyard, and what better timing then to enjoy it with family."

She looked at him incredulously, was he insane? They weren't playing house. They weren't some happy family. She could see the plea in his eyes though and he never seemed to ask for anything, so she relented. She nodded her head slowly at him, agreeing to eat outside with his parents.

Hermione enjoyed the sun beating down on her and the gentle breeze that cooled the back of her neck. She heard Draco and his family talking but it was nothing more than a distant murmuring. She couldn't focus, all she could think about was her situation. The events that had happened in the last twenty-four hours had completely turned her life upside-down. She hated Malfoy. He was cruel and mean. He made her time at school a living hell, taunting her, calling her names, and playing tricks on her. Now that same man was her husband. She was eating brunch with his family, people who had witnessed her being tortured, in their own home. Now, she was helping him by playing the part in some happy family fantasy. She didn't understand why she was helping him. She really didn't care what his parent's thought of their arrangement, they couldn't have thought that they were blissfully wed, yet his mother seemed to think that was exactly what had happened. She understood that Draco was trying to protect his mother, but why did she go along with it? Would he have done the same if her parents were there?

She felt a deep longing in the pit of her stomach and felt the ache of emptiness in her heart. She was almost immediately overcome with grief. Her parents would never be here. They could never play house with her parents, never put on a happy charade for them. She had the sudden urge to cry. She looked up and her eyes immediately locked with Draco's. His eyes were clouded with confusion. What thought had just stumbled in her head that made her feel like that? He saw that she was on the verge of tears and knew that he had to get her out of there. How would it look to his parents if she just burst out in tears while his mother talked about gardening? They would think she was insane.

Draco quickly got to his feet and pulled Hermione out of her chair, he buried her head in his chest while he acted like he was hugging her. He turned to his parents. "Mother, Father, I am sorry but my wife doesn't seem to look that well. I think she is unused to all of the excitement that happened yesterday and she didn't get much sleep. I am going to take her up to our room and tuck her in so she can rest up before tonight," He said suggestively. "Please excuse us for our rudeness. Feel free to stay and I will hurry back down as fast as I can."

"Do not fret, my dear, you are newlyweds after all. It's expected." His mother responded with a sly smile. "We will show ourselves out, but we would love to call upon you again soon. Just because you are a married man now does not mean that you can forget about your mother!"

Draco rolled his eyes and bent down to give Hermione a kiss on the cheek and whisper in her ear. "I am going to pick you up now, don't do anything stupid." He waited for a response but she didn't even move. He couldn't even rile her up that was not a good sign. He could feel her anguish in the pit of his own stomach, while she stood there motionless. He slowly lift her up into his arms, her head still against his chest. His arms were draped underneath her legs as he turned to carry her inside. A house elf opened the door for him, letting him into the house. He slowly made his way through the house careful not to disturb the fragile person he held in his arms. He could feel her teetering on the edge of breaking.

The house elf followed them all the way to their room and opened their bedroom door for him as well. Draco made a mental note to give thanks to the elf later. He was going to fight to keep the house elves in their home if they were this intuitive. They were handy little buggers and he would have most definitely had trouble getting his wife to their bedroom without their help and he knew this would not be the last time that he carried her to their room.

"Was there an'thin else ya be needin mastah?" The little elf questioned.

"Not at this moment, thank you….uh….?"

"Bimble," the elf provided him, bowing.

Draco nodded at the elf and made his way towards the bed. He gently deposited his wife under the covers and looked at her. She was as still as a statue and had a glazed look on her face. She looked lost in her thoughts and this time she wasn't plotting, she was reliving old painful memories.

"Hermione?" He whispered. When she didn't answer he tried calling her name louder. She just continued to stare at a spot on the bed instead of turning towards him. He sighed and gently reached out to grab her chin. He turned her face towards him and saw her lips trembling. Her eyes were glassy pools on the brink of overflowing. "Hermione," He tried again. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong?" She said quietly. "What is right? Everything is wrong!"

He sighed. "That's not what I meant, what is causing your anguish right now? I can feel it, Granger, and don't say it was breakfast with my parents," he added lightly.

Hermione looked in Draco's eyes, his silhouette blurry to her, but she didn't see any malice or ill contempt on his face. "It was your parents," she barely whispered. She knew Draco heard her though because he bristled at her comment and straightened his spine. He stepped away from the bed, distancing himself from her.

"What do you mean my parents? They were nothing but nice to you, my father barely talked to you, which believe me is a kindness from him. Do you think that they wanted or expected this match?" He cried at her, "Answer me!"

She barely flinched at his elevated tone and kept her head down. She stared at the quilt on the bed, worrying the stray fabrics with her fingers. Draco could tell that he lost her again, stuck in her own mind, oblivious to what was happening around her. He sighed and asked her to talk to him one more time. When she continued to stare glossy eyed at the bed, he stormed out of the room. The door slamming behind him brought Hermione back to reality.

The tears came before she could even register what was happening. She hadn't planned on saying that. She shouldn't have said that. His parent's, while not overwhelming welcoming, had been polite. But his parent's had just reminded her of her own. She should call him back and clear up the confusion. She should tell him that it wasn't his parents' actions that had caused her this despair, but what his parents represented for her. She should try to fix things, but she couldn't. She couldn't draw up enough energy to care what he thought of her right now.

The tears from her eyes flowed freely down her face. This is the second time in the last twenty four hours that she had cried uncontrollably. Is this what her life was going to be? Pain and sadness? She wallowed in her self-pity. This was not the life that she had planned for herself. She thought she would have a happy life, but right now all she could see was the big line that divided her and her husband. Her plans were quickly getting thrown down the drain and she felt like she was drowning with them. The uncertainty of her life was overwhelming her now. Hermione always had a plan and a back-up plan. She was always in control of her life, but now she had no idea where her life was going to lead her. She needed to find herself again and fast. She needed a plan. She quickly began thinking of the facts. She was stuck with Draco that was a universal truth now. The Ministry had too much invested in their relationship to allow them to break up and find new matches. She was living with Draco and had a set of rules that they needed to follow. They had to make sure that they were on their best behavior and that they could convinced everyone that they were in love. She knew she hated him, so how was she supposed to convince people they were in love. The first step would be to try and not hate him. Yes, that was it! She was going to have to try and move on from the past, move on from everything that had happened between them. With a plan in mind Hermione drifted off to sleep.

Draco went straight to his potions room. He needed to distract himself from that bloody women. She was so hot and cold with him, he couldn't stand it. One second she was yelling at him, the next doing favors for him, and the next just shutting down and ignoring him completely. He rubbed his hand through his hair, it didn't matter. That seemed to be his mantra lately. The hate that she had for him was too great. Draco didn't blame her, he had done terrible things to her in the past. He didn't think he was to be truly blamed though, but he knew she wouldn't understand, he had to keep up appearances for his families sake, the Dark Lord was living with them in the manor, for bloody's sake! Ignoring the biggest mudblood target would not have been forgiven or ignored and he would have been severely punished for his oversight. What he had done to Hermione was minor compared to some of the other things he had had to do under the Dark Lord's command. It doesn't matter he told himself again. He slouched down into the chair behind his potions table. He felt exhausted. If this was how he felt after a few hours of being married to that women he couldn't imagine how he was going to feel after a couple of years. He was positive that his life expectancy had been halved already. He again reminded himself that it didn't matter and buried himself in his work.

Hermione woke a few hours later. She felt better now that she had a plan. She got up and straightened her clothes and smoothed out the quilt on the bed. She left the bedroom and immediately felt the pull towards Draco at the end of the hall. She walked up to the engraved door and knocked on it. No one answered but she could hear someone moving around in the room. She tried knocking one more time before she opened the door. She gasped at the sight before her. There were several cauldrons brewing with potions. She recognized a few of them by smell, skele-grow, a dreamless sleep draught, and a blood replenishing potion. Interesting. What was Draco doing? She spotted him standing over a boiling cauldron. His hair was messed up and his shirt was untucked from his pants. She just stared at him, this was not the Draco she was used to seeing. His eyes were scrunched as he concentrated on adding ingredients to the cauldron.

"Draco," Hermione called trying to get his attention. He ignored her, not even glancing at her. "Draco," she whined at him again. She sighed. She needed to get his attention somehow and then an idea came to her. "Draco, you owe me for earlier." He just grunted at her in response, still not looking up at her. "Draco," she warned, "well if you don't want to talk to me about the house elves, that's fine, I will just go and free them then." That got his attention. He looked up at her then and said a simple, "No." He returned back to his work, effectively dismissing her and ending the conversation. Hermione tried to get his attention several more times before turning on her heels and walking out of the room. He was going to make not hating him hard.

Hermione walked down the stairs and went to the kitchen. The house elves were hard at work cooking dinner. She walked over to them and told them they were released from their duties. They all abruptly stilled their actions and turned to her. Their eyes wide as they stared at her. Hermione grinned and continued, "Thank you all so much for your services, but we no longer have need of them. You are all free!" She exclaimed proudly. If Draco did not want to have this conversation with her then she would do what she saw fit.

She turned to walk to the library. Once she was in the library she set out to find a cookbook. She would be just fine cooking all of their meals. She was an independent women after all. Once she located a cookbook she made her way back to the abandoned kitchen. She looked inside the refrigerator and matched up ingredients with a recipe. Chicken soup it is _._ She got to work setting out all of the ingredients she needed. She began chopping, peeling, and cooking their meal. Once the meal was finished she found a tray and decided to bring Draco his dinner upstairs so he didn't have to leave his work.

She walked up the stairs and struggled to get the door open. She decided to set the tray down on the ground and open the door. She then held the door open with her hip while she bent down to pick up the tray. She slowly stood straight up, careful not to spill any of Draco's dinner. She walked into the center of the room and set his meal down on a table. "Draco, I brought you dinner." She glanced around the room and noticed him over a different cauldron. He stared at her. "I cooked it myself," Hermione said proudly.

"Why, did you poison it?" Draco asked.

"No, of course not, I let the house elves go." She responded.

"You what?!" he exclaimed at her.

"I let the house elves go,' Hermione repeated, "They are now free elves!"

"You stupid, stupid girl," He growled at her, "Did you even ask if they even wanted to be free? House elves like serving families. They take great proud in the work that they do and you have just given them the biggest insult you could. Bloody hell, Hermione, Where are they going to go now? Did you ever think that most families aren't going to want to pay for free elves when they could have free house slaves? Did you ever think what could even happen to them if they worked under a different house, the mistreatment they might receive? If they could even get another job?"

"But they are free," Hermione said meekly. He just shook his head at her. "I didn't know! Oh Draco, what… what can we do now?" Hermione asked him. "We have to make this right."

"We," He said incredulously, "You did this!"

She walked over to him, "Please Draco?" She reached out to him, trying to touch his arm, but all she grasped was air. Draco took a step back avoiding her touch. "Please Draco, we'll be even. We need to find them! I didn't even think about the alternatives." Her eyes welling up with tears again.

He looked at her and sighed, "That's the problem with you Gryffindors, you jump head first into everything without thinking about the consequences. Fine, I will fix this Hermione, but I will not spend my lifetime fixing your mistakes, use that bloody head of yours!"

"Well if you would have talked to me about it earlier and explained the situation to me than I wouldn't have done it."

"Don't try to blame this on me, Granger, it won't work. This is on you. I am going to go fix your mess. Don't touch anything." Draco said as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione didn't know what to do, so she fled from the room and hid in the library. A while later, she decided she should find Draco and see if he made any progress with the house elves. Plus, they needed to spend their bonding time together before the night got away from them. She could feel that Draco was back in his potions room and immediately set off to find him. She walked in and easily spotted him across the room.

"Draco," She said tensely, "Did you fix everything?" He just grunted in response. "Thank you, well since that matter is settled, I think we need to spend our two hours together tonight. What would you like to do?" He didn't answer and continued to busy himself around the room. Hermione concluded that Draco was not going to answer her. She looked found an empty chair in the corner of the room and settled into it before cracking open the book she was reading.

A couple of hours later she stiffly got up from the chair. Her back hurt from sitting in the uncomfortable chair for so long. She reached her arms towards the ceiling, stretching her back and arms. At least their bonding time went without any incident. If it could be called bonding, seeing as how they hadn't even spoken to one another. She looked over and saw Draco still busy at work. She was about to exit the room before Draco called out to her. She turned back to him and he nodded at a piece of parchment on the table in the center of the room, sitting next to the forgotten tray of chicken noodle soup. She stared at it for a couple of minutes, her stomach working itself in knots. She walked over to it and snatched it off of the table. It was opened, so she knew Draco had already read the contents of the letter. She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Draco behind her, busy with his work.

She walked into the bedroom and quickly got herself ready for bed. Once she was changed and settled in bed she brought the letter out. She took a deep breath before opening and reading the letter.

' _Dear Malfoy Family_ ,' Hermione cringed, she wasn't sure if she was ever going to get used to being called a Malfoy.

 _We, at the Ministry, are pleased to announce that your engagement will take place on the night of the war celebration. In one day's time, there will be a breakfast celebration at Mr. Harry Potter and Mrs. Daphne Potter's place of residence at the time of 10 o'clock sharp. After breakfast, all of the men will go on a bonding experience to pick out appropriate jewelry for the said engagements that will be taking place in the next couple of weeks. The women will also go on a similar outing to find dresses for the celebration event. If approached by reporters, you will only mention your newly found friendships, no word on your new relationships. This is a time for you to create new friendships and bond together. Remember that this particular group of people will be your support system during this time of adjustment._

 _The Malfoy Wedding, will be held last, in six months of time, at a chosen date in the month of September. By allowing the Malfoy wedding to commence last, we are ensuring that there is enough time to plan a grand event. This will mark the beginning of time when the general public will be expected to start to get married. Our services are at your disposal to create an event that won't be forgotten._

 _We hope that your first day together has been nothing short of magical and that tomorrow you are able to create and deepen your bonds of friendship. We have included a set of questions for you and your partner to help enhance the bonding experience. Please go through these questions in the next coming days, it is important that you create a believable bond before the celebration. I do not need to remind you of the repercussions if the general public does not accept your new relationships._

 _Best of Luck!_

 _The Ministry of Magic_

Hermione stared at the letter in horror. There was no emotion in the letter, nothing, just simple straight forward directions and thinly veiled threats. She looked in the envelope and pulled out the questionnaire cards that the ministry had so generously provided. She examined the cards and almost dropped the first one after reading it.

Describe a sexual fantasy to your partner.

'What the bloody hell?' Hermione thought. They can't all be that terrible. She shuffled the cards and read them as she went. They weren't all that bad, but they were still going to be just as difficult to answer. Hermione didn't know what some of the questions would achieve but she was sure that the Ministry had thought of everything, they were much more prepared to deal with the situation than she was.

She created a wall of pillows along her body, she agreed to TRY to not hate Draco, not to cuddle with him. There would be no repeat of last night. Once she was settled in the bed she put the letter and cards on her side table. She tried to wait up for Draco, but she could sense that he was trying to avoid her. She fell asleep with the reassurance that she was going to be seeing her friends tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the delayed updates! I have had a family emergency, so that has been my main focus! All is better though and hopefully I can continue to update at a more frequent pace. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

Chapter Four

Draco jolted awake. He almost groaned with annoyance. This was the third time that Hermione had woken him up with her nightmares that night. The room was still dark and a pale grey-blue illuminated the windows. It was not yet truly morning, the sun was chasing away the night, but he could squeeze in a little more sleep. He gave the room another once over and fell against the pillows in frustration. He was just shutting his eyes when he heard her again. He looked over at Hermione with annoyance, her eyes flickering beneath her lids in rapid motion. She whined again and Draco sighed. He didn't dare breach her pillow wall and comfort her like last night. Instead, he had to wait out her tantrums before he was able to fall back asleep. When she whimpered again, he glanced out the window and decided he wouldn't get much more sleep and he should just get up for the day.

He got ready for the day as quietly as he could and then walked out of the bedroom. He was exhausted. He had went to bed late last night with the hope to avoid Hermione. It had worked, she was sound asleep before he had gone to bed. He feel into an easy sleep but got woken a short time later by the sounds of her screams. He wondered if he should start slipping her dreamless sleep draughts before bed. He wasn't sure why she didn't take them, surely it would help her get a more restful sleep. Draco closed his eyes one more time and sighed before making his way down the hallway. He was distracted in his thoughts as he made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchens where the house elves were busy preparing for the day.

"Mornin' Mastah." Bimble bowed as he approached Draco. "I'll get breakfast started right away, sir, if that pleases you."

"Thank you, Bimble, that won't be necessary, Hermione and I have plans for breakfast. Could you please bring me a coffee though? Black." Draco responded kindly.

The house elves seemed like they were settling back in nicely. Hopefully, yesterday's incident was far behind them. It had taken some convincing to get the creatures to come back and work for him. Their pride had been badly wounded. He had offered them pay and housing to entice them to come back to work, but they still refused, worrying that Granger would kick them out again. In the end, he had convinced them that Hermione was not always sound of mind. An accurate description in Draco's books. She had a very intuitive mind and could recite facts at the drop of the hat, but her ability to look further into the future was dismal. In Draco's experience, it seemed that was how most Gryffindor's functioned. Quick to act, slow to think. Draco's house was considered calculating, but Draco thought that the Slytherins just possessed awareness. Awareness of what their actions and decisions would mean, not just for them, but for everyone affected by their decision. It would serve the couple's well when they were in public.

Draco grabbed the Daily Prophet that was waiting for him on the dining room table before making his way outside to the outdoor patio. Watching the sunrise over the lake would remind him of home and calm him down. He settled in and began to think about the day they had ahead of them. Potter's house would be interesting enough. This would mark the first time that he would see his friends since the dreadful meeting at the ministry. He was eager to see how they were doing. This had been the longest time that he had not been in contact with them.

He was always the leader in his group of friends, always the one giving advice, always the one they leaned on, and turned to in times of stress and this was a very stressful time for them all. He was worried how they were all fairing. Daphne was probably the best off out of all of them. He knew Daphne well enough to know that she would be able to keep her emotions in check. He knew enough about _Saint Potter_ to know that he would be respectful towards her and treat her well. Longbottom and Davis would be fine. Longbottom lacked a backbone and Davis was kind enough to not take advantage of him, but his lack of confidence might frustrate her. He thought Theo would be doing well enough. He was probably losing his bloody mind with all the ramblings of looney Lovegood, but he would be hiding it well. Nott was one of the most reserved out of his friends. He had years of practice hiding his emotions from his abusive father, he would be able to stay composed in front of the oblivious witch. No, Nott would be fine. He was most worried about Pansy and Blaise. Blaise never took anything seriously and lacked a filter. He knew Blaise would unintentionally say something in jest that would hurt Ginny's feelings and the sheweasel was a hellcat. He had been on the receiving end of her temper before and pitied Blaise if he found himself there. Pansy also had an explosive temper. She was a spoiled elite and was used to getting her way. She needed to have a strong presence for anyone to take her seriously. Draco admired her, she was so much more than anyone gave her credit for, but she always had to revert back to her demanding presence to get the attention she wanted. But her strong personality paired with the Weasel was not going to be a good combination.

Draco sighed. He needed to stop thinking about this. He would find out soon enough. Bimble brought out his coffee and Draco brought the cup to his lips. The rich aroma filled his nose, he closed his eyes enjoying the way his senses were waking up and becoming more alert. He could feel the sun start to beat down on him, enjoying the warmth that it brought him.

~0~

Hermione woke up groggily. She looked over and saw Draco's side of the bed was empty. Her eyes felt heavy, she had slept restlessly, and she could feel the exhaustion thrum throughout her body. She wanted to sink back into the pillows and try to go back to sleep, but knew sleep would not welcome her. She convinced herself to get up and get ready for the day.

She walked into the kitchen and her eyes were immediately drawn to Draco. The sun gleaming off of his golden hair. He was like a beacon, shining through the glass doors. His eyes were closed and he had a slight smile on his face. Not a smirk, an actual smile. She drank in the sight of him. He looked so peaceful. She made her way over to the sliding glass door, pausing before opening it, she didn't want to disturb him. She had never seen him so serene. She was staring at him when he opened his eyes. His grey eyes boring into her chocolate. His smile turning into a smirk. Her cheeks instantly warmed at being caught staring at him. She rolled her eyes, shaking off her discomfort, and walked outside.

Draco lifted his eyebrows at her, "A beautiful view, isn't it?" He asked.

Hermione turned her face away from him to look at the landscape around her. The sun was shining through the trees and shimmered across the lake. The flowers dotted the green landscape with bursts of color.

"It really is." She said in awe, turning back to Draco.

Draco glanced at the backyard and then back at her. "I wasn't talking about the landscape," he said. Hermione's eyes widened in surprise and her brows furrowed in confusion. Draco tilted his head towards Hermione and then gestured towards himself. Her cheeks flushed with color and Draco just winked at her in response.

The sliding glass doors opened behind them and Bimble walked out. "Scuse me, mastah," Bimble bowed at Draco, "Mistress." He turned and bowed towards Hermione. "Yous told me to get yous when it was nine, sir."

"Thank you, Bimble." Draco said as he turned towards the door. "I need to get ready for the big day." He turned towards Hermione, grabbed her hand and kissed it, "see you soon, my dear, unless of course you would like to join me?" He quirked his eyebrow at her suggestively.

Hermione's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. She didn't think her face could get any redder from embarrassment, but Draco disappeared through the doors before she could form any witty retort. She turned her head around and faced the backyard. It really was beautiful. She sat there for a little while enjoying the view, the butterflies in her stomach growing with each passing minute. She knew this was going to be an awkward breakfast.

She decided the only thing she could do was wait for Draco. She stopped in the library, grabbing a book, and made her way towards the formal sitting room. She settled down on the couch and opened her book. The thump of the stairs breaking her from her trance. She closed her book and looked towards the stairs. Draco was buttoning his shirt when he entered the sitting room. He was dressed in fine black pants and a crisp black button down shirt. His hair was slicked back on his head and he was clean shaven. Hermione looked down at herself, she was only wearing a casual floral sundress. She started playing with the hem of her gown, which fell just before the knee. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. Should she change into something more formal? 'Bloody nonsense," she chided herself, 'I am going to breakfast with friends and I don't even think I own real formal wear other than business suits and my yule gown. No,' she thought, balling her hands into fists, 'I look fine.' She straitened her shoulders and glared at Draco.

"I thought women were supposed to be the ones that took forever to get ready, though I do suppose putting all that grease in your hair does take some time." She sneered at him.

"Perfection always takes time," he mocked, "I doubt it is something that you are familiar with, little lioness."

Hermione snorted at him, but before she could respond the fireplace turned bright green. She turned towards the flames. Draco made his way beside her and offered her his arm. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing ahold of his arm and walking through the flames together.

They arrived at The Potter Household with a pop. They arrived in a living room and could hear the commotion from a nearby room, but before they could make their way towards it another door banged open and Harry Potter stepped into the room.

"Mione!" He greeted her. Hermione ran towards him and jumped into his outstretched arms.

"Oh Harry, I've missed you so much, I've been so worried. How are you? Is everything okay? How is Daphne treating you? If she does anything to you, I will hex her." She rumbled on before Harry interrupted her.

"Honestly, Mione, it isn't so bad. We are not best friends by any means, but we have an understanding. We are working towards getting to know each other. That is all I can ask for at this time. No need to hex her." He pulled Hermione to his side and tucked his arm around her shoulders. "Malfoy," he said as he nodded towards Draco in greeting.

"Mione," he said with disgust, "is a Malfoy too now, perhaps you should call me Draco, so as not to confuse us," He chided with a sneer.

Hermione could feel Harry bristle at Draco's words. She knew Draco was trying to rile Harry up, but this visit was going to be hard enough without these two at each other's throats.

"What is all that noise, Harry?" she interrupted, breaking the glares the two men sent each other.

"Oh, that's the house elves getting ready for the party," Harry said turning away from Draco, "Please, come and join us in the dining room."

"Is Ginny here yet?" Hermione whispered to Harry. She could feel him stiffen at her words. "Oh Harry, I am so sorry, I didn't mean too…"

"It's fine, Hermione, what's done is done, we can't change anything." He said quietly.

Hermione brought her hand up to his cheek and gently caressed it before giving him a light kiss. She brought her hand away from his face and squeezed his arm. He nodded at her in understanding and escorted her out of the room.

~0~

Draco was seething. The second they arrived she had jumped strait into Potter's arms and then she kissed him! And now she was being escorted into another room by Potter. This was unacceptable. She may not like their marriage, but he certainly wasn't going to let another man do his job of escorting her around and protecting her.

He followed them out of the room, oblivious to their quit muttering. They had entered into a large formal dining room. It was very lavish. One wall was covered with a large wooden panel that was engraved, much like the doors in their household. The scene on the wall depicted a thunderstorm, with clouds and lightning bolts. 'Lightning bolts, how original,' Draco mused. The storm was raining down on a field of wildflowers. It was very well-crafted, it could put some of the engravings at the Malfoy Manor to shame.

The room was much different than the dining room at their estate. Theirs was open and attached to the kitchen. This room was a completely separate room. Their dining room was lighter and airier, the large wall of windows allowing for extra light to illuminate the area. The Potter's dining room was all wooden with the large engraved mural along one wall. A large expensive chandelier was hanging high over the long wooden table and a large arrangement of wildflowers stood tall in the center. The chairs around the table were wooden with maroon velvet cushions. It was a very immaculate room that screamed of wealth.

"Draco!" He barely registered before someone wrapped their arms around him. He looked down and saw the top of Daphne's head. He returned her hug with a pat on the back and pulled away from her, uncomfortable with the physical attention he was receiving. He had barely pulled away from Daphne before he was being enveloped into another hug, this one led by Pansy. He pulled away and saw that Hermione was being held in a bone crushing hug by Ronald. He looked around the room and began to mutter to himself. 'Great,' he thought, 'no one but the golden trio had shown up yet.' He pulled his eyes away from the scene Ron was making with Hermione and turned his attention to the two witches in front of him.

"How are you two? I hope everything is going well." Draco asked politely.

Daphne was the first to respond, "Oh Draco, it is going as well as an arranged marriage is expected to go, I suppose." She glanced over at Harry before adding, "He really is quite sweet."

Draco nodded at her and turned towards Pansy.

"Oh Draco, I don't know what I am going to do," Pansy cried, "His temper is terrible."

"Has he done anything to hurt you?" Draco interrupted forcefully, resting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing forcibly.

"No, no, no, nothing like that. We just can't seem to see eye to eye on anything. Oh Draco, how am I supposed to have a good marriage when he is deplorable!" She whined, "His table manners are dismal, he chews with his mouth open and it makes me want to gag every time we eat. He doesn't want to talk to me, and during our mandatory binding time he makes me watch Quidditch or talks about Quidditch, it is the only thing he ever wants to talk about!"

"While that sounds terrible, I have every faith that you can teach him some manners," Draco responded with a smirk, "I am sure you can beat it into him, Pansy."

Draco smirked at her and then turned his head towards the door when he heard it bang open. In walked a red faced Theodore, followed closely behind by a smiling Luna. Theodore made a beeline towards the group of Slytherins leaving Luna behind him. Luna just skipped over to the golden trio oblivious to the state Theo was in.

"It is almost like bloody torture listening to that witches ramblings," Theodore seethed, "I think the muggle world or Azkaban might be more favorable!"

"Well she was called Looney Lovegood for a reason, Nott," Pansy laughed.

"I understand the full extent of that nickname now," Theodore said in a rushed tone, "I just do not understand her. She is all smiles, giggles, and daydreams! It is so frustrating."

"There are worse things you could have had to deal with," Draco countered.

Before another word could be uttered yelling could be heard from the living room that they had all arrived in. Everyone quickly made their way through the door and down the hallway into the living room. Everyone entered just as Ginny pointed her wand at Blaise and tried to hex him. The bat-bogey hex was deflected and missed its mark, most likely due to the binding. Ginny let out a shriek and tried to charge toward him before Harry rushed forward and put himself between Blaise and Ginny. He grabbed her by the waist and whispered in her ear. She nodded, her anger visibly disappearing. Harry then led her out of the room. The war heroes all turning to follow their friends.

Draco turned to Blaise. His lips turned down in a frown, "you alright, mate?'

"Yes," Blaise responded, "coming to the Potter's house put her in a very foul mood and I seem to be a perfect target for it."

Draco nodded in understanding.

"If only we could put that energy towards some other good use," he winked at them and the smile returned to his face. Blaise was always one for a quick joke. He never took anything too seriously and Draco doubted he would take this marriage seriously, either, which could be a problem.

Draco had a headache and was ready for this day to be over. So much drama already and they had been there for barely fifteen minutes. Draco led them back to the dining room so they could get this breakfast over with. He walked through the door and noticed the other guests were all occupying the far end of the table. They were all engaged in a quiet conversation with each other. Their voices carrying over to Draco.

"Oh the lot of them are awful," He heard someone say, Draco suspected it was Ginny, "They are nothing but slimy snakes waiting to strike."

"They can't hurt us though," He thought he heard Ron say.

"Aye, they can't hurt us physically but emotionally they can leave scars." He heard Hermione whisper.

"How are we going to get through this?" someone asked.

"We will just have to beat these monsters at their own game." Ginny responded.

"We will be fine," Luna said, ever the optimistic one.

Ginny snorted at her, "Yes, but in what state Luna? Will these heathens change us and make us just like them?! I don't want to just get through this, I want to survive it as myself!"

"Ginny, I think you are being dramatic, I don't think it will be that bad," Harry began to say.

Draco had heard enough, his anger threatening to boil over. He slammed his fist onto the table.

"That is enough!" He shouted at them, "You claim us to be monsters, but the only monsters I see here are you! You do not know us, so don't pretend too and stop holding the past against us." Draco turned sharply and stalked out of the room, his Slytherin counterparts following on his heels. They made their way back to the living room and all sat in silence, minds occupied, thinking of things that they had done to have deserved being called such names. It was true that in the past Draco had been a cruel man, but he could think of nothing he had done in the last few days to deserve such hateful words. Maybe Hermione would never get over the past, maybe none of them would.

~0~

Back in the dining room, Hermione let the anger that Draco felt wash over her. She was ashamed of her actions and those of her friends. It was true they really did not know anything about each other. They only had their past experiences to shape their thoughts of each other and the past wasn't pleasant for anyone.

Harry was the first to break the silence, "That did not go well," he said quietly, "They are right though, we do not know much about each other. We can't keep holding onto their past actions and our past experiences with them. We need to try to get along with them, after all, we will be forced to spend a lot of time with the group of them, and we will all have a better time of it if we get along."

They all nodded, slowly agreeing to what Harry said to them.

"From what little I know of Daphne, I do know that she has a kind heart and a gentle demeanor." He continued, "I know it won't be easy for any of us," he looked at Ginny pointedly, "But this is our future now."

"But mate, you ain't stuck with Pansy," Ron said.

Harry shot him a dark look, "Ron, you don't have anything good to say about Pansy?"

"Oh, I have loads of things to say about her, very little of them good."

"Theo is wonderful," Luna interjected, "I know we will be happy together. He is so smart and kind. He doesn't realize it of course, but he is." Her dazzling smile penetrating the somber mood. "I know that you and Blaise will be happy Ginny. You are both so passionate, you just need to learn to communicate better."

Ginny snorted in response.

"It's true!" Luna exclaimed, "And Ronald, you just clash with Pansy because she likes to boss you around, but really that is what you need. Someone to take care of you. Hermione, you and Draco are evenly matched in almost every way. He will be a great partner for you throughout life and will take care of you, which is what you need, someone to think about you, since you do not. Harry, you and Daphne will be a perfect match. Both of you are so kind and think of others first. You all just need to see as clearly as I do."

Hermione looked around her circle of friends and saw the disbelief in their eyes mirroring her own.

"Thanks Luna," Hermione said hesitantly. She didn't believe a word that the witch said though. Sometimes the witch just rattled off nonsense that she wanted to be true. Suddenly the door swung open and Kingsley walked in with the Slytherins trailing behind him.

"What is the meaning of this? I arranged this breakfast for you all to get to know each other, not stay segregated. Now, sit by your spouse and the sooner we finish breakfast, the sooner we can continue with today's errands." Kingsley situated himself at the head of the table.

The rest of the witches and wizards shuffled around finding their places. She felt Draco sit down next to her, but she didn't dare look at him. She could still feel his anger rolling off of him in waves. The dishes appeared on the table, filling it with all sorts of foods. The room was silent except for the clanging of the silverware when the door burst open again. ' _They should just replace that door with a revolving door_ ,' Hermione thought.

"So sorry," Neville stammered, his face turning a light shade of pink. Tracy entered behind him.

"Yes, sorry," she said, "Neville was nervous about picking out a ring and it took some convincing for me to finally get him to leave." Neville's face turned a darker shade of pink and he looked down at the floor avoiding everyone's gaze. "I really think it is quite sweet," Tracy said as she walked up to Neville and placed her arm around his, "I am sure no other man in this room will be as considerate picking out a ring. I know anything you pick out will be wonderful." She led him to the chairs designated for them and sat down.

Once seated the whole dining room began eating again, with a few lowered murmurs of conversation. Hermione didn't dare start a conversation with Draco so she turned to her left and quietly talked to Ginny and casually talked about what type of dresses they would get today.

"I want to get something sexy," Ginny stated, "When they announce our relationships, I want every guy to wish they had been paired with me, then maybe Blaise will realize how lucky he has it." She added quietly, "what about you Mione?"

"Oh, I don't want anything flashy, just something nice, I guess," Hermione said with a shrug.

"You will get something appropriate for the occasion," Draco glared at her, "You are a Malfoy now and I will not have you making a disgrace to our family." He looked past Hermione at Ginny, "Make sure she gets something better then nice," he said as he turned back to his plate. Ginny just shrugged at Hermione and began eating again.

Hermione turned and glared at Draco, ' _how dare he!_ ' "I will get whatever I wish to wear," She whispered quietly at him. Draco turned to her and stared at her coldly. He opened his mouth to respond but the Minister was demanding their attention.

"Alright everyone, let's finish up, we need to get on with our day. We have appointments we must keep. The shops have agreed to close down their stores for a couple hours to give you all the privacy that you need to complete this task."

Kingsley waited a few minutes longer until the clinking of the silverware stopped and then stood. He directed the men to follow him as he made his way back to the living room. "There will be assistants in the shop to help you with whatever you may need. You only have two hours to complete the task, do not dawdle. You may return to your houses once you are finished, or you may continue to visit with one another. I look forward to seeing what you fine gentleman have picked out in the coming months." He held out his hand to the fireplace and directed the group to enter.

Draco had never been in a jewelry shop. He had no reason to ever be in one. He had never had a women in his life whom he had wanted to buy jewelry for and his father bought all of mother's jewelry so he never felt the need to gift her with some.

He looked around the shop, there were glass cases everywhere. He leaned down to look in one of the cases. The shelves were lined with a rich velvet and loose stones adorning the shelves. The diamonds glistened in the lights. He straightened, he didn't want to get Hermione a diamond. While he had never been in a jewelry shop before, he had done research once he was presented with this task. He knew that Hermione would not want a diamond, she would not want to wear a possible blood diamond on her hand every day. She would resent wearing a stone that people may have died over. Damn her and her ethics.

He made his way around the room as someone approached him.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" An employee asked.

"As you know, I am here for an engagement ring, but I do not want it to be a diamond one." Draco stated.

"Diamonds are traditional in engagement rings," the young man informed him.

"I do not care, I said I do not want a diamond ring, you can either show me other alternatives or leave me to find them myself," Draco said with an air of authority, "I do not need you to try and convince me of what I want."

The man nodded and led Draco towards a glass case on the opposite side of the store.

"Was there a particular stone you were interested in then?"

"No," Draco said as his eyes scanned the shelves before him. "No, none of these will work. She needs something different and one of a kind. She needs something delicate but fit for a queen." Draco felt silly explaining it to this man. He knew she wouldn't want anything flashy, but she needed something to remind everyone around her of her new status as a Malfoy. He shouldn't care and should just get her whatever he found or whatever was the most expensive, but he knew she would feel bitter about wearing it. While he didn't care about their marriage, he did want Hermione to be proud to wear a symbol of their marriage for everyone to see.

"I have just the thing, wait here," The worker said as he left and made his way towards a door behind the counter.

The worker returned with a wooden box. He set it down on the glass case in front of Draco and opened it, nudging it towards Draco. Draco looked down into the wooden case. There were about ten rings in the display, all sparkling in the light. Draco picked one up and held it up to the light. It was a platinum ring, with a dainty halo around a large stone. He inspected it and then shook his head and set the ring back in the display case. He grabbed another ring and performed the same inspection and then placed it back into the wooden tray. He performed this routine on several more rings before he grabbed one that he was interested in. It was a rose gold ring with a diamond filigree band. The band wrapped around the ring delicately and looked like leaves. They sprouted open once reaching the precious stone, creating the image of a flower. The rose gold blossoming around the stone only highlighted it and drew attention to the stone's size. The stone was a light peachy pink which complimented the rose gold perfectly. The employee handed Draco a matching band.

"What type of stone is this?" Draco asked.

"That is a morganite, a very beautiful stone, it is also known as the stone of divine love. It is said that the stone opens one up to the frequency of the universal heart. It is supposed to carry an energy that can warm the soul of its wearer, atleast that is the mythology that surrounds the stone. They are normally formed with very few inclusions," he took the ring from Draco and held up the jewelers loop to it. "Yes, this one does not seem to have any inclusions at all, very lovely, a fine choice, sir."

Draco just nodded his head. The ring was perfect for her, the mythology was concerning, but he thought she would like it. His stomach suddenly clenched in nervousness. It made no difference to him if she liked it, but it did matter if she would wear it. Thank goodness he would find out soon enough, only a few more days until the celebration. Only a few more days until he would present the ring to Hermione in front of the entire wizarding community. He started feeling nauseous. 'Don't puke,' he thought to himself while the jeweler wrapped up the ring.

~0~

The ladies entered the fireplace after the boys had left. Glitter, silk, and satin greeted their sights as they entered the room. The room was surrounded by different fabrics and dresses that hung on racks around the shop. The center of the room held a raised platform with a mirror in front of it. Two couches were on either side of the platform and an elderly lady stood between the couches. The eccentric lady greeted them and offered the couches for them to sit down.

"Oh this is going to be such fun!" the lady exclaimed, "I am Lady Dempsey and I am delighted I will get to be helping you ladies with your wardrobes in the next couple of months! While you will have to choose a dress that I have already made for the celebrations, I will be able to make your wedding dresses from scratch! I have some ideas for all of you lovely ladies, but of course we will talk about those dresses on a different occasion. Now, since it is just myself we will be each picking dresses one at a time. All of you ladies will pick a dress for whichever lady is determining their garb at the time. She will then get dressed in each of the picks and we will pick the dress that flatters her the most! It will be such fun! I know it will be hard to choose since all of you ladies are so gorgeous! Now," the excited dressmaker said, as she looked around the room, "Who would like to go first?"

All of the women shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze, before Luna raised her hand and stood up.

"Perfect!" said the dressmaker, "with your complexion you can pull off almost every color, we may want to stay away from some pastels, as it might wash her out, but we will see what you all pick out!" She raised her arms to her side, and pointed to the racks around the room, "Let's get to work! We have quite a few of you ladies to dress!" She clapped her hands and started pulling the ladies off of the couch and directing them towards the nearest dress rack.

Hermione was hauled to her feet and thrown at the nearest rack filled with dresses. She started fingering through them but was honestly lost. She knew nothing of clothes and dresses. How was she supposed to find out what looked good on Luna when she couldn't even figure out what looked good on her own body? She moved towards the next rack trying to find Ginny among the clothes.

Her hands moved across a silky fabric and she decided to investigate it further. She pulled it out and saw a dark navy blue dress. She blushed at the low cut top that was accentuated by rhinestones, before deciding to put it back.

"What are you doing?" asked Pansy, eyeing the dress.

"I was putting the dress back," Hermione mumbled.

"Why?" Pansy asked again.

"Oh… well… I just thought," Hermione stammered, clearly uncomfortable with talking to the Slytherin, it didn't help that she could feel Draco's nervousness in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh Granger," Pansy said, cutting her off, "You are worried about it being too low cut?" She took the hanger out of Hermione's hands and examined the dress. "This will be perfect!" she exclaimed, "This is Theo's favorite color, don't tell him I told you, and this will look lovely on Luna, besides if she's got it she should flaunt it!" She handed Hermione back the dress and winked at her. "I found this green one but I think yours will be better." She showed Hermione the green dress she picked out before nudging Hermione back to the couch where the rest of the girls were waiting for them. Hermione took a seat next to Ginny, while the dressmaker collected the dresses the girls had chosen for Luna. She then told them to wait there while Luna got changed and with a snap of her fingers tables next to the couches appeared with glasses filled with champagne. She escorted Luna to a door behind the mirror and went in after her.

She turned to Ginny when she felt the redhead press a glass into her hand. "Isn't it a little early for alcohol?" She whispered to the redhead.

"No," Ginny responded, "Or at least it isn't too early for us considering the shit we are going through."

Hermione slowly nodded her head and took a sip of the drink, coughing slightly as the alcoholic bubbles burned her throat. The rest of the room was uncomfortably silence as the girls all tried to avoid looking at each other. Luckily, Luna and the dressmaker re-entered the room quickly.

Luna wore a purple ball gown. It twinkled as she made her way to the platform. The ball gown had layers that were each pinned up with a rhinestone, creating a cascading effect on the skirt. The dress had thick straps and a low back. Luna turned towards the seated girls and looked at them questioning. They all just shrugged in turn. It was beautiful, but Luna seemed to be lost in all of that fabric.

Lady Dempsey quickly grabbed Luna by the elbow and pulled her off of the platform, "I don't think so my dear, you have such a delicate, graceful frame this is too much for you. I saw a dress that will suit your perfectly in the dressing room, let's try that one."

Her voice faded while she took Luna into the adjoining dressing room. The silence enveloped the room again. The only noise was the faint murmuring of Pansy as she whispered in Daphne's ear.

Luna reentered the room in Hermione's pick. The deep blue twinkling under the lights and the rhinestones highlighting Luna's collarbone and dipping low to show an impressive amount of cleavage. The deep color making her pale skin seem flawless.

"Oh Luna!" Ginny exclaimed, "This is it, it's perfect!"

"Yes, it looks wonderful on you," Daphne said.

"Theo is going to die when he sees you," Pansy exclaimed.

Hermione nodded in agreement. Luna looked stunning, she was going to break hearts that night. Hermione wiped away the tears that were pooling in her eyes. Ginny leaned over to her to ask what was wrong.

"I just, I never thought we would be doing this, that we would be celebrating. I thought I was going to die, I thought we were all going to die." She said quietly as the tears flowed more freely down her face. Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and started to brush her hair with her hand.

"We all thought we were going to die," Tracy said moving over to them and placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder, "I didn't think that I would be in this situation, but I am glad that I am, the other alternative would be worse."

The other girls all murmured their agreements, looking haunted by their past, until Pansy spoke up, "Well what better way to celebrate the fact that we are living then looking sexy as hell and giving all the boys heart attacks, if the announcement doesn't kill everyone, then let our sexiness do the trick!"

The girls all giggled and Hermione smiled gratefully at the Slytherin before wiping away the tears on her face.

Luna twirled on the podium and asked if this dress would do the trick. They all gushed over her and reassured her that the dress she was wearing was perfect for her.

The tension in the room had disappeared and the girls were all eagerly chatting with each other as the cycle continued. Each girl had a turn at trying on dresses. Daphne had picked a lovely light blue dress. It had thin rhinestone straps and a modest neckline. The dress was short in the front but long in the back and created a long train with purple and dark blue flowers embroidered on it. Pansy had picked a black dress with grey lace accents. The neckline was a deep v and had a chain that hung between her breasts. Tracy had chosen a large pink ball gown. The chiffon giving the dress a light and airy with all of the layers, instead of swallowing her frame. Ginny had chosen an emerald green dress. It hung to her every curve, and the low back showed off Ginny's toned back. When Ginny had walked out of the dressing room, Hermione was overcome with jealousy. She would never be able to pull off a dress like that.

Before long Hermione was yanked off of the couch and told to stand on the platform while everyone went and picked out dresses for her. While she stood there waiting she was overcome with apprehension. She didn't look like the other girls, all of them were so beautiful. The Slytherin's and Luna were all delicate and feminine looking and Ginny looked strong and sexy, all those years of Quidditch had done wonders on her body. Hermione silently cursed herself for preferring books to sports. She wasn't fat by any means, she was just soft. She wasn't taut muscles and sharp bone structures, she was soft skin and messy hair. She was used to fading in the background, to being overshadowed by Harry's fame. She sighed to herself, it didn't matter, she wasn't going to be able to fade into the background at this event. She was going to be proposed to, in front of everyone. Her stomach clenched with anxiety. She wasn't ready for the whispers that were going to follow her all night.

She was grabbed by the elbow and was thrown back into the present. She followed Lady Dempsey as she was led to the dressing room. The dressmaker closed the door behind her and showed her the options that the girls picked out. Hermione cringed at most of them. She was uncomfortable with showing a lot of skin, and couldn't imagine the way people would talk when she showed up on Draco's arm and showed off too much skin, especially when compared to the other women who would be besides her that night.

"Let's start with this one," Dempsey said, "I will be surprised if we need to try on anymore after this one."

She pointed to a red dress on a hanger and helped Hermione out of her sundress. She was embarrassed at having another women help her out of her own clothes, but kept quiet over the intrusion. She was instructed to hold her arms over her head while the seamstress tugged the dress down her body. It was an off the shoulder, crimson red dress. The top hugged her breasts before flaring out at the waist. The skirt was made of a light fabric that showcased a high slit in the side of the dress, showing off her legs.

Lady Dempsey practically had to drag her out of the dressing room and push her on top of the raised stage. When Hermione caught sight of her in the mirror she blushed a deep red and had to be forced to turn around to face the rest of the group.

All of their eyes glowed with approval at her.

"I don't think," Hermione started.

"Hermione, shut up," Ginny instructed her, "You look amazing, you are getting this dress and that is final!"

The other girls voiced their agreement and Hermione eventually relented, if Ginny and the rest of the girls thought it looked good on her then she would wear it.

Once she exited the dressing room from changing back into her clothes, Lady Dempsey addressed them again. "Now, the ministry would like me to inform you that you will all be getting ready with each other before the ball at the new Weasley residence. The boy's will all be getting ready at the Zabini household before meeting you at the Weasley estate and escorting you to the ball. I will be contacting you after the proposals' about your wedding dresses." A large smile plastered the elder ladies face. "I will owl these dresses along with the accessories that I have chosen to your house. You ladies are free to enjoy the rest of your day."

She ushered them out of the shop with well wishes trailing after them. All of the girls stood clustered by the shop entrance not sure what they should do.

"I guess we should go back home, before we are all spotted out together?" Hermione suggested.

They all turned their heads and started heading separate ways before Tracy called out after them, "Would you guys like to come to my house tomorrow for lunch? I know the house elves are dying to cook a big meal."

They all gave their consent and headed off. Ginny and Luna walked with Hermione down Diagon Alley. They looked in the shop windows not ready to return home.

Luna gasped and grabbed their arms. The two girls turned to her in concern.

"What's wrong Luna?" They asked in unison.

"Theo would love this," she pointed to the window. A large leather bound notebook was on display in the window. Luna hurried past them and in to the shop before Ginny and Hermione could stop her. They rushed in to the shop after her, the door chiming as they entered the store. They saw Luna engaged in conversation with the elderly man behind the counter and decided to look around. There was so many different knick-knacks in the room. All clearly expensive collectable items. Hermione shuddered at the thought of how much some of these items must cost. She made her way around the shop before her eyes were drawn to a set of beautifully, antique potion bottles. Hermione sucked in her breath. They were beautiful. She reached her hand out to touch them and delicately traced the patterns on the bottles.

"Oh Draco would love those!" Luna cooed behind her, startling her.

"I doubt Draco would be able to appreciate their beauty," she responded before quickly putting the bottle back down and turning away.

"You aren't going to get them for him?" Luna asked shocked.

"Why would I?" Hermione asked, "We don't do nice things for each other, we are both just keeping score, tallying up who is winning in this _marriage_." She shrugged at Luna's incredulous look.

She went to turn away before Luna stopped her. "Get them for him. Hermione, it could be a step in the right direction for you both."

Hermione shook her head no, but Luna persisted, she finally agreed, but only after Luna had threatened to buy them and send them to Draco saying that they were from Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she handed over the obscene amount the potion bottles were costing her. She made her way through the shop and out the door to where Ginny was waiting for them. She had a bag in her hands and Hermione gave her a questioning look.

"I found something that Blaise might like, it's just a little something, but I owe him an apology for earlier today. Giving him a gift is much easier than actually giving him an apology." She calmly stated.

They continued down the street in comfortable silence until Luna shouted out again.

"I need to go!"

"What's wrong Luna?" Ginny asked her, while Hermione looked on with concern etching her face.

"It's just Theodore, I can feel him, something is wrong. I will send word once I know everything is okay." She said as she quickly left to find the nearest fireplace.

"Well, I hope everything is okay," Hermione said.

"I am sure that everything will be fine, or at least as fine as it can be," Ginny bit out.

"Ginny," Hermione implored, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ginny shook her head, "Not yet, I don't even know what I feel, let alone try to explain it to someone else." She looked up at Hermione, her eyes searching hers, "I promise that I will come to you when I am ready too." Hermione nodded at her and snaked her hand round her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Ginny leaned her head on Hermione's shoulder before sighing and saying that she should be getting home too. "The sooner I apologize to Blaise, the sooner I can go back to not feeling bad for hating him."

Hermione followed Ginny to the nearest shop with a fireplace and wished her goodbye as she entered the fireplace and left Hermione by herself. Hermione looked around the shop before deciding she should go home too. She took in a deep breath and muttered, "Home."

She walked through the fireplace into the sitting room and the smell of a cooking dinner greeted her. Her mouth began to water as the aroma teased her senses. She followed the smell to the kitchen and saw the house elves busy at work.

Draco was casually seated at the table with a book in hand.

"Nice of you to join us, Mrs. Malfoy," Draco drawled at her, "Dinner will be served soon."

She rolled her eyes at him and came to join him at the table.

"How was your shopping trip, I trust that you have picked a dress that is suitable?" Draco questioned.

"No," Hermione stated, "I have chosen a large trash bag to wear, it comes in black or white, or I could chose a paper one, which comes in this lovely shade of brown? Any preference on color?"

He looked at her for a second before smirking at her. The skin around his eyes crinkling and his eyes shining with humor, "Well, I think that my tuxedo will be overshadowed by your dress choice then. "

"Undoubtedly," Hermione offered, "You should look into other outfits immediately, I will not be embarrassed by you."

"I don't believe any outfit will stand up against a black trash bag," Draco agreed, "I will just have to go naked then."

Hermione ignored the last part of his statement, "Ah so you have chosen the color black then, I can manage that." She gave him a look of seriousness, before a large smile graced her face.

"How was your shopping trip?" Hermione wondered. She moved her hands off of the table as the House elves began to set the table for dinner.

"It was successful," Draco concluded, "Would you like to see the ring I have chosen for you?"

"No!" Hermione bellowed out, "I mean, no thank you, I want at least that part to be a surprise, since nothing else is."

Draco nodded his head in understanding before they both descended into a calm quiet, while eating dinner. After they had finished eating and the table was cleared of the dishes, they both decided it would be best to get their bonding time over with. Hermione followed Draco up the stairs, she retrieved her book, while he went straight into the potions room. She returned shortly after with her book and with the stack of questions that the ministry had provided them.

"Would you like to do these first or after?" Hermione asked him as she held up the cards to him.

"After," Draco said simply.

She sunk into 'her chair' in response and flipped open her book. She was having trouble concentrating, and could see Draco moving in her peripheral vision and it was distracting her.

"Draco?" She asked, finally giving up and closing her book.

He just grunted in response, not stopping his actions.

"Why are you making all of these potions? What are you doing with them?"

Draco stiffened slightly before continuing with his work. There was a pregnant pause before he answered her, "I make these potions and then give them to St. Mungo's."

"Oh," Hermione gasped, "that is wonderful!"

Draco just shrugged his shoulders before ignoring her again.

"Draco?" Hermione tried again, "Can we just answer the questions now? It's getting late and I am getting tired." He grunted again in response. Hermione took that as a yes. She pulled out the first question and asked. "What is your favorite color? Mine, is Lilac."

"Grey," he answered, sill not looking at her.

"Grey, that's not a color, pick again." Hermione demanded.

"Granger, you cannot boss me into picking a new favorite color, that is it and that it shall remain." He responded cooly.

"Fine," Hermione growled, and grabbed the next card, "How many children do you want? I would like two, eventually."

"As many as it takes to produce a male heir," Draco countered.

"No, two, I am not some breeding heifer and I will not just pop out children until it satisfies you, Malfoy!' She spat at him, "If we have two children and neither are a _male heir_ you will have to deal with it."

He snorted at her but didn't reply, so she turned back to her cards, "Who is your hero? Mine would have to be Bathilda Bagshoot, she wrote Hogwarts: a History! Her life is fascinating."

"My godfather," Draco responded flatly.

"Who was your godfather?" Hermione started to ask before realization hit her, "Snape was your godfather."

"Yes, I admire the strength and the convictions he had," Draco droned, "Even the love he had, as ridiculous as it was. He was so strong that he would defy the Dark Lord, he was, he is, the bravest man I knew. He helped me so much and I will never be able to repay him." Draco coughed and cleared his throat before starting his work again, "Perhaps that is enough for tonight."

"This will be the last one then," Hermione said holding up another card. " _You may ask your partner any one question._ " She read out loud to him. She stopped to think before she asked him, "Draco, why did you want me to pretend we were happy in front of your family? They know this was forced upon us and they must know that we are not happy about this arrangement?"

Draco inhaled a sharp breath before looking at Hermione. His grey eyes boring in to hers. "My mother may not bear any physical marks from the war, but mentally she is scarred. She will do anything to ensure my happiness, I know you must not understand the love she has for me," Draco huffed, "but I am my mother's only child and her lifeline in this world, I keep her grounded. My father does his best, but I am the one that she needs reassurance from. During the war, she blamed herself for not protecting me enough, and now she will do anything to protect whatever happiness she thinks I can have. I cannot think of all of the negative outcomes that would arise if my mother thought I was not happy and decided to try and take on the ministry." He studied her reaction before continuing, "Why did you agree to go along with it, Hermione?"

"I've never heard you ask for help before." She said quietly. She turned her head away from his piercing gaze and walked out of the room, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Draco didn't move for a long while, he just stared at the door that Hermione had just exited. He was rooted to the spot, so lost in his own thoughts. 'That wretched witch, she does nothing but fill my head with self-doubt.' Of course he couldn't ask for help. Who would he have asked? 'Excuse me, but The Dark Lord is living with me and wants me to kill the headmaster, he's threatened to kill my mum if I don't, do you think you could help? I would be forever grateful….. Stupid girl.' She knew nothing about his life, nothing about how he had to grow up. Malfoy's don't ask for help, any of his burdens were his alone, why would he try to give someone else his responsibilities? He wouldn't have even asked Hermione if he didn't need her cooperation on the matter.

A sudden burst of purple smoke clouded his vision and a vile smell assaulted his nose, snapping him out of his reverie. He cursed, 'Damn that witch, now I've ruined my potion.' He rushed over to the cauldron to try and stabilize the potion before any further damage could be incurred.

He was suddenly emotionally exhausted. The events of the day catching up with him. He had actually picked a ring for Hermione, while a draining experience, the worst was the questions. He had never shared so much with someone his whole life, except for maybe Blaise. He was sure that Theo had some insight into his personal life but only because of how observant he was, not because Draco actually shared personal information with him. Just like how Draco never asked for personal information from his friends, they all knew what was going on, but no one asked. That was the way the elite families were, they were private, and now with a few questions Hermione already knew more than his best mates, and this was only the first day of questions. What else was she going to uncover? It wasn't fair really, he had found nothing of importance about her, but I guess that is what happens when you lead a private life, everything becomes a secret.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He really was tired. He glanced at the clock and groaned, she wouldn't be asleep yet, he had decided he would avoid actually going to bed with her at the same time to avoid awkwardness. He dumped out the contents of his ruined potion and decided he had time to start it again before going to bed.

~0~

Hermione got in bed and stared at the door. She was waiting for him to come after her, to yell at her for her ridiculousness. To scowl at her and tell her that he would make her life hell if she told anyone his secrets, but that never happened.

When she realized he wasn't coming after her to threaten her, Hermione sunk further into the bed. She welcomed the softness of the sheets and tried to let the fluffy pillows lull her to bed, but her mind would not stop racing with all this new information that she had learned. She really was uncomfortable seeing Draco as more than her hated bully, he had actual emotions and they contradicted her image of him as an evil death eater. She really didn't know what to do with all this information. She supposed this was a step in the right direction, she might actual be able to get along with this side of Draco, she might actually be able to like him. But she really didn't know which route was the safer one, hating him or actually liking him? She let out a strangled groan, she had promised Harry she would atleast try.

She tossed and turned but sleep would not claim her. Her mind not being able to stop thinking about these new turn of events. She heard Draco as he entered the room and stiffened. She tried to control her breathing and hoped that Draco wouldn't notice that she was awake.

"I know you are awake little lioness, you can stop insulting me by pretending to be asleep," he huffed at her.

Hermione instantly opened her eyes and sought out his shadow in the dark. She saw his figure as he rustled out of his shirt, her cheeks instantly blushing, even though she heard him more than she actually saw him taking off his shirt. "What difference does it make if I am awake?" she inquired.

"Ah my dear, the difference is that you won't be able to accuse me in the morning."

"What do you mean?" she shot back at him.

He didn't answer her though, instead he leaned over the bed and started slowly taking her pillow wall down, pillow by pillow, and throwing them on the floor.

"Hey!" Hermione screeched, "What do you think you are doing?" Her voice reflecting the horror she felt at being so vulnerable and exposed to him. Each pillow he took representing her feelings of safety.

"I am not going to sleep like this any longer, one night was unpleasant enough, I will not repeat it. Your little pillow wall encroaches on my side of the bed and there is no reason for it. We are married and will be expected to share flesh soon enough, yet you try to hide behind the safety of your pillow wall, I will not tolerate it," Draco informed her.

Draco mentally chided himself. There was really no reason for him to get this angry of her small measure of safety but he was emotionally raw and it really wasn't fair that she could have a safe haven when he felt so exposed. He tried to take deep breaths to calm down, he needed to gain control of his emotions. He had never lost as much control as he had in the past couple of days. It was unnerving to think that this witch could do that to him. No, it must just be a product of their situation, not her. Either way she would not sleep with a pillow wall their whole life, better to stop this before it forms into a habit, he tried to reason with himself.

Before she could protest further he climbed into bed and just to spite her he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. If he was going to feel uncomfortable then so would she. She had tried to protest several times but Draco had cut her off each time. He eventually buried himself in her hair and slowly drifted off to sleep, with Hermione close behind him.

~0~

Draco woke, well rested and vaguely aware that he was alone in bed. He knew he was going to pay today for his actions yesterday. It couldn't have been helped though, he know that he had let his emotions get the better of him, something he vowed would not happen in the future, but it was a necessary evil to obtain his goal. Last night he had gotten a full night's sleep without being woken up by Hermione and her nightmares. He let the feeling of victory wash over him, until he sobered up enough to remember that maybe the means wouldn't justify the ends, it would all depend on what revenge she sought to inflict on him today for his transgressions last night. Maybe it would be better to just slip her a dreamless sleep draught, but he had a problem with drugging women, even if it was for their own good.

He quietly made his way down the stairs, he wanted to know where Hermione was before she could locate him, a simple safety measure on his part. He looked everywhere, every nook and cranny in the library, the study, and even all the guest rooms. He returned back to the kitchen baffled, until Bimble bowed to him and held out a note for him. He braced himself, had he really scared her off that much that she wouldn't even face him? Who was running away now? So much for that Gryffindor courage.

 _Ferret,_

 _Since you have decided to sleep all day, I was unable to inform you that I have plans for lunch with the girls. I will be at Tracey's should you need me, but please hesitate if you do._

 _~Hermione_

He rolled his eyes at the contents of the letter, it seemed last night had not scared her in the least for she was her same haughty self. He quickly glanced at the clock and did notice that it was, in fact, the afternoon. He just shrugged. It wasn't his fault he had slept poorly the last couple of nights. He turned to Bimble and ordered lunch.

~0~

Hermione had arrived at Tracey's house with some trepidation. They had gotten along yesterday, but that could have been a fluke, they couldn't even consider themselves friends, they were just allies in this unfortunate circumstance. It would probably go smoother than yesterday, just having the girls then the boys with their over raging hormones.

She was able to take a deep breath to prepare herself before the adjoining door swung open and Tracey quickly walked over to her and greeted her.

"Hermione, I am so glad that you could join us, everyone is here except for Luna." The girl smiled at Hermione and led her down the hall to a large kitchen where the girls where all seated around the wooden table. They each greeted her warmly before she made her way to Ginny's side. They all sat in an uncomfortable silence while waiting for Luna. The tension in the room making everyone uneasy. Hermione fidgeted in her chair uncomfortably and took in the surrounding room.

The dining room was an open concept, like in Hermione's house. It was attached to the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen had dark wooden cabinets with light marble countertops and colorful adornments lining the counters. The living room had a grey couch with two large matching armchairs. Each couch was adorned with colorful blankets. The whole room looked bright and clean. It was a welcoming sight and put Hermione at ease.

They all heard the pop as Luna arrived in the room down the hall. Tracey slowly got up from the table to go greet Luna and bring her back to the group. They all waited until Luna sat down before Tracey nodded at the waiting house elves. While the house elves began to fill the table Hermione looked over at Luna.

"Luna, was everything okay, you left so fast yesterday?" Hermione questioned the blonde.

"Oh yes, Theo had gotten into a fight," Luna stated calmly, "Apparently he went out with Blaise after ring shopping and got into a fight with some guy at the bar they were at. He never did tell me why the fight started but he is fine now. Thank you for asking."

All the girls looked at Luna with wide eyes as she continued to cut the chicken that was on her plate, completely oblivious that she was the center of attention. When she finally looked up she gave everyone a wide grin.

"He has never gotten into a fist fight before," Daphne said, her eyes wide with curiosity, "He's too smart for that."

"He really is fine," Luna admonished, "I must admit I am curious to what ring he has picked out for me. It won't be too long before I get to see it though." Luna sighed dreamily.

"When will you be getting engaged?" Ginny asked.

"Oh in two months' time and then we will get married the following month." Luna answered. "How about you?"

"In one month and then we will be married four months later. At least I have some time, not much though," Ginny shook her head at the omission. She then turned her head to look at Tracey.

"Oh we will be getting engaged in three months, with the wedding a month after." Tracey responded to her unasked question.

"We are supposed to arrive engaged at the celebration and then get married by the end of this month," Daphne said and nudged Pansy.

The nudge from Daphne had prompted Pansy to answer, "We will be engaged this month and then married the month after." A sour expression adorned her face. "What about you, Hermione?"

"Oh, it seems I am the only one that will be made a spectacle of then. We will be getting engaged at the celebration at the end of this week and then married in six months' time." Hermione said, her cheeks reddening at the thought of the public display that she would have to endure.

"It makes sense, the Malfoy's would make an engagement a big affair," Tracey said quietly, "They will have Daphne and Potter married as soon as possible to help kick start this law and then they will end it with the most unlikely couple to be married, and that should really help with everyone accepting this law."

Everyone slowly nodded at the genius of this plan and Hermione let out a dramatic sigh.

Pansy quirked her eyebrows at her and asked, "What are you exasperated about, Hermione? At least, Draco is not some pale faced ginger, no offense Ginny. Do you not find Draco handsome?"

A faint blush blossomed on Hermione's cheeks as she averted her eyes trying to ignore the questions. She turned back to her plate and promptly stuffed her mouth.

"Oh my god," Ginny exclaimed, "You do!"

Hermione glared at the girl next to her, which prompted laughter from Pansy.

"Well I have eyes!" Hermione admitted.

"Well he looks so much better now that he can actually eat without fear of his life. He certainly has filled out, he isn't the scrawny boy he used to be. Not having The Dark Lord on his back, really agrees with him," Pansy teased.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Well it is his own fault he had The Dark Lord on his back."

"Oh no," Daphne said quietly, "Hermione, I really don't think that you understand what he had to go through, what most of us had to go through."

Hermione just scoffed at the girl across from her, "Regardless, everyone has choices, Draco just didn't make the right ones."

Tracy slowly shook her head at Hermione, "Have you watched his confession video, Hermione?" When Hermione only shook her head no in answer, she continued, "You should watch Draco's confession video, Hermione, maybe then you will be able to understand the lack of choices he really had."

Hermione just shook her head, she wasn't going to watch that video. She knew that she wasn't going to feel bad for him, it was his choice to take the dark mark, it was his decisions that led him to be the sickly human he was a year ago. No, Hermione knew exactly what type of man Draco was, he had proved how cruel he was every year in school, with every teasing jab he took at her. No, Hermione was not going to feel sorry for him and yet there was a small throb of self-doubt in her head. She thought about his omission's yesterday and closed her eyes. She would not watch that video, if only to save her sanity. She was already so confused when it came to Draco, she didn't need to add to the confusion she already felt.

~0~

Draco had the intention of simply doing nothing all day. He wanted to lounge around in his sweatpants and not move from his spot on the couch. It had been a very long time since the Malfoy Heir had been able to do nothing and not have to be constantly on his guard. He thought that after the last couple of days he had earned being lazy, but Blaise had other plans for him.

Draco was lounging on the couch in the living room, with a book in his hand, when Blaise found him. It was a little unnerving that Draco had not realized he was in the house sooner, but Draco was not going to let Blaise know that.

"Zabini," Draco turned towards his friend, looking at him over the back of the couch.

"You look productive," Blaise drawled.

"What do you want Blaise? I am in no mood to bicker with you, I get enough of that with Granger," Draco bit out.

Blaise just laughed at him, "Oi, that little lion causing you trouble, mate? Do you need assistance in taming her?" He winked at Draco.

Draco was momentarily blinded by rage, that little lion was his! Draco clenched his jaw and quickly regained control of his emotions. Where did that even come from? It must be the bond. He knew that Blaise was just trying to rile him up and judging from the amused expression on his friend's face he had succeeded.

"What do you want Blaise?" He asked again, glaring at the Italian.

"Well, Potter has invited us all for a game of Quidditch, apparently the Manistee has decided to bestow a pitch in his backyard," Blaise said with a shrug, "he has sent all of the guys an owl to see if they wanted to play while the girls are otherwise occupied. I stopped on my way there to get you."

Draco narrowed his eyes at his friend, "I didn't get an invitation and I doubt I am invited, and frankly, I don't want to go."

"Come on Draco, don't get your panties in a bunch, I can see the letter on your table right now," Blaise gestured at the accused table behind Draco, "just think of how nice it will be to ride on a broom again, I really think that it will help get our mind off of everything, besides," he smirked, "how are we going to beat Potter without you?"

Draco sighed but knew he was in, Blaise just had to bring out his competitive side, "Fine, give me a second."

Draco pulled himself off the couch and ran upstairs to change into his Quidditch practice gear and hurriedly walked back to where Blaise was waiting for him.

Blaise smirked at his friend, "You ready to kick some ass, if we lose I am blaming you completely."

Draco patted him on the back, "Let's go Zabini, I assure you if we lose it won't be because of me, besides you've already admitted that you need me to win." He turned a smirk on his friend.

Draco and Blaise arrived in the same room that they had yesterday, this time the room was filled with the other boys. The boys were all sitting on the couch and Harry was in the middle of convincing Neville that he wouldn't hinder their team by being on it.

Draco smirked at this. They would definitely win if Longbottom was playing, he was terrible.

"Yes, please be on their team, Longbottom," Draco teased.

Harry's eyes flicked to him, "Why, scared you won't win without him on our team?" Harry's eyes quickly flew to Neville, "No offense, Neville."

Draco shrugged before answering, "We can win with or without Neville on your team, in fact, he can be on ours. You can have Theo, and I assure you that you have the better end of that trade." Draco's eyes glittered with mischief as he challenged the chosen one.

"No, I don't think so," Harry exclaimed, "We both know that Theo would throw the game, Neville is on our team, and that is final. "

Draco just smirked in response, exchanging amused expressions, with his friends. Harry had just fallen right into his trap, he was so predictable.

Harry explained the rules, since they were only playing with three people, with was not enough for a regular Quidditch game to be played. They would play with the Quaffle, the Snitch, and one Bludger that would be enchanted to just fly around. There would be a Keeper, if the team decided to do so, or everyone could help protect the goal posts. Everyone would also get a Bludger bat, to protect themselves, and they could have a designated seeker or again everyone on the team could try to find it. No contact with other players either. You couldn't intentionally try to harm another payer. This last rule was mostly because the Ministry would kill them if they showed up to the party with bruises and broken appendages, not because of a safety precaution. They all knew they would love to send a good aimed Bludger at one another.

They walked outside Harry's house and down the patio, there was a small garden and a group of trees that the Quidditch pitch was behind, complete with small benches for spectators. Draco felt a small wave of jealousy hit him. He would love to have a pitch in his backyard. His thoughts turning to his backyard, and how the lake glistened in the sun, how the flowers moved with the breeze and quickly forgot his thoughts of jealousy. He liked his backyard, it was like his own personal sanctuary.

Harry set down the chest he was carrying and enchanted it so the balls would be released once they had all mounted their broomsticks and were in the air. He then handed everyone a bat and then regrouped with his team to talk strategy.

Draco turned towards his friends and they quickly decided that they were not going to have specific positions, per say, Theo would guard the goal posts, unless he saw an opportunity to score or catch the snitch. Blaise would be the team's chaser. He was the most ruthless and would easily be able to score on the Weasel. Draco would assist him but his main goal would be to find the Snitch. They nodded their heads in agreement once they had figured out their plan and turned back towards their opponents, waiting patiently for them to finish. When the other group finished they nodded at Draco's team and they all shook hands before mounting their brooms and pushing off into the air.

The heaviness that he felt from the last couple of days instantly vanished as he flew higher in the sky. The breeze rustling in his hair and cooling his cheeks. He had always felt so alive when he was on a broom. The rush of the wind in his ear as he barreled through the sky at high speeds, made him feel exhilarated. He stopped his broom from climbing any higher as he stared down at the ground, waiting for the chest to release the balls. The men were gathered in a circle around the box, twenty feet in the air, all thrumming with excitement as they waited for the game to begin. The chest finally threw open releasing the balls into the air. Blaise and Ron both darted to grab the Quaffle, as Theo and surprisingly Neville made their way to the opposite ends of the field to guard the goal posts. Draco urged his broom higher into the air so he could see his surroundings. His whole mind focused on finding the snitch.

~0~

"Where is Neville?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh," Tracey said, "He is at Harry's. Harry decided to throw a small Quidditch game."

"Ya," Daphne interjected, "He figured that since we were going to be getting together, the guys should too."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, Draco didn't tell her they were getting together. "Was Draco invited?"

"Yes," Daphne responded, "Harry didn't send out the invitations until this morning though."

"Oh," was all Hermione responded with, that explained it. She had left him sleeping, so he probably didn't even know about it. She frowned slightly. Was it really a good idea to have the boys together? Playing a competitive sport, nonetheless. Flashes of fighting, bloody noses, and broken glasses danced in her head. This did not sound like a good idea to her.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Ginny asked her noticing the scowl on her face.

"I just don't see how this won't end in a fight."

"Well, if you are so worried," Pansy said dramatically, her voice rising with each word "We can go and watch them and make sure that they behave themselves. We can be their protectors, making sure that they don't fall into the clutches of the dark wants that they have of punching each other in their faces!" She clutched at her chest with one hand while the other was held out in front of her in a fist.

The girls all giggled at her ridiculous spectacle.

"That isn't a bad idea," said Daphne, "I mean not for that reason," she added rolling her eyes, "but it might be fun to go and watch them."

They all nodded in agreement, Hermione only shrugging not really caring, but it would be a welcome distraction and take the conversation off of their marriages. They all quickly flooed to Harry and Daphne's house. Daphne led them through the house and out the patio doors, where Hermione could see the Quidditch Pitch behind a group of trees.

She could see the figures flying in the air, and could tell that the game was well underway. The boys oblivious to their sudden appearance. As they cleared, the small group of trees, a small set of spectacle bleachers were on the side lines of the field. The girls quickly made their way towards the bleachers and made themselves comfortable as they watched the group of men fly around.

Hermione took her seat next to Ginny and Luna and squinted her eyes towards the sky as she tried to make out Draco. Her breath caught in her throat once she spotted him. He was seated on top of his broom with such a calm commanding that it made her jealous. He looked like he belonged on top of that broom. His hair, which was usually slicked back, was flying around his face. His usually pale cheeks, were tinted with a pink. His face was calm and was plastered with determination. He looked so different in the sky. Hermione took in a deep breath and then turned away from him.

Ginny pointed next to her and she directed her eyes to the location. She saw Neville land and start walking toward them. She heard the shouts of dismay as his teammates noticed his absence.

"Hey!" Neville said cheerfully as he got closer to the group.

"Neville, dear," Tracey responded, "You can't just land in the middle of a Quidditch game." Her face held a small smile as she directed her gaze at Neville.

He just shrugged as the rest of the men landed and trudged towards them, all halting when they reached Neville's side. All spurting out different variations of greeting before turning their attention back towards Neville.

"Neville," Harry said, "Are you quitting? Because we kind of need you."

Neville turned away from Harry's gaze and back towards the women, "No, but I wanted to say hi to the ladies and figured that they might want to play. We can just restart the game!" He said probably hoping that with the addition if the ladies he wouldn't be the worst player in the air. Or he could just be trying to be the gentleman that he was and include everyone.

"Yes, please!" Ginny exclaimed as she jumped up from the bench besides Hermione. Most of the girls just nodded and made their way off the bench and towards the men. Her eyes widening as she realized what was happening. 'No, no, no, no,' she thought, 'this is not happening, I am not going to be made to go up on a broom and try to play this game.' Hermione closed her eyes, she hated flying. She wasn't very good at it and she hated how out of control it made her feel. She did not have sturdy ground beneath her feet when she was up in the air and it made her feel helpless. She could fly, of course, but it wasn't as steady as she would have hoped. She didn't like the feeling of flying and she didn't like knowing that she was not exceptionally good at it, both of those paired together was not a good combination for her confidence. She was not going to make a fool out of herself, especially after seeing how good Draco was at it. He was like a God on a broom, she didn't want to give him any ammo for making fun of her, and falling off of her broom, or not being able to fly in a straight line, would certainly be ammo.

She opened her eyes and found them all staring at her expectantly, she cursed silently before forming a response to inform them that she did not have any intention of riding that death stick, before Harry cut her off.

"You don't have to Hermione, I am sure someone else would be willing to sit out if you don't want to play," Harry stated calmly before scanning over the gathered group, looking for someone to volunteer on her behalf.

"Oh yeah," Ginny said, "I don't need to play, I'll sit and watch with you 'Mione." Hermione saw the flash of longing in her eyes before Ginny started heading back towards her. She scanned the crowd and caught Draco's eye, his silver eyes boring into hers before he lifted his eyebrow in question at her. She sighed before she felt her shoulders sag in defeat.

"No, no, Ginny, don't be ridiculous. I'll play," she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Even to her own ears it sounded like she was horrified with the idea. She slowly got off of the bench and made her way towards the crowd. She saw Draco smirking at her and she straightened her shoulders. She would play and she would make sure her team kicked his ass.

Turns out that she was going to be on Draco's team. It was a miserable idea, really. They thought it would only be fair to have spouses together, though she thought that it was Harry's way of making sure that he didn't get both Luna and Neville on his team. It was going to be harder for her to not be noticed by Draco if she was on his team, even now she could feel his steely gaze on her, following her movements, observing her hesitation.

She stared down at the broom in her hand and steeled her resolve, its fine, she will be fine. She'd flown hundreds of times without incident, why would this time be any different? 'Maybe because there is going to be balls flying at your bloody head trying to get you to fall off of your broom,' she thought darkly. She felt her anxiety heighten and she looked at the chest holding the retuned balls, the Bludgers shaking in their restrained compartments, rattling the box. Her breath quickened and her vision blurred as she thought about getting hit with one of those.

She started as she felt a hand on the small of her back and a presence next to her.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," He calmly reassured her, "If you really don't want to play I will sit out with you, they would just have to redo their teams which can be done easy enough."

She studied his face, his eyes held her gaze steadily. She tried to search for some hidden intent, but all she could find was honesty and concern. She frowned, that wasn't right, that look did not belong on Draco's face especially when directed at her.

"Why?" she asked him with narrowed eyes.

He just shrugged before casually responding, "Because you are my wife and my responsibility."

She just stared and him and looked at his calm expression before thinking it over in her head. He clearly enjoyed Quidditch, he had looked so carefree while he was up there on his broom. He was normally so serious and uptight that she didn't really want to take this away from him. She started biting her lower lip while thinking of what she should do. She shouldn't care if he got some enjoyment out of doing this, but she did. Her thoughts where Draco Malfoy were concerned were jumbled now at best. Was he truly doing this to put her at ease, or was he just looking for more ammo to torment her with later? Which option would give him the least amount of ammo? Not even getting on her broom or getting herself thrown off of it? She kept worrying her bottom lip, her eyes glued to Draco trying to dissect his intentions.

He huffed at her before adding in a bored voice, "I am glad that I finally found something little miss perfect is dare I say it, bad at, and to think it is something as mundane as riding a broom."

Hermione raised her chin and stared him dead in the eye, "Not likely, Malfoy. I have best you in almost everything and I intend to add this to the list."

She mounted her broom and kicked off into the sky.

~0~

Draco applauded himself inwardly, he knew she wouldn't be able to back away from a direct challenge and was glad that he had forced her hand in making a decision. He knew she didn't like brooms and flying. It was a wonder she had passed Madam Hooch's class, her flying was shaky at best. He thought it had something to do with getting too caught up in her head, she couldn't just focus on feeling and directing the broom. Her kick-off was impressive though and was almost flawless, if her broom didn't start wobbling once she started hovering in the air, twenty feet above him. He mentally chided himself, he just made this game way harder for himself, not only was he going to have to keep an eye out for the Snitch, he was also going to have to make sure his wife didn't tumble to her death apparently. He should have just let her walk away from the game, but then he knew he would have had to sit out with her.

He mounted his broom and kicked off in a graceful manner, smirking at Hermione when he caught her eyes. Her face flushing in anger but she just rolled her eyes at him and pretended not to care. He could see her white knuckles gripping on her broom handle, terrified. He made his way over to Blaise and Theo and gave them a meaningful look at Hermione. They both nodded their head in understanding, they would keep an eye out for her too. That made his job a little easier.

They all circled around the center of the field waiting for the balls to be released again. Harry had decided that they would still only play with one Bludger since there were many less experienced players playing with them now. They all sat silently on their brooms while Harry explained the rules again for the benefit of the ladies. All of the men sat stiff and calmly on their brooms, ignoring Harry and taking in their surroundings. All of the ladies sat demure and quiet on their brooms, except for Ginny, who gripped her broomstick in eagerness, a look of anticipation on her face, and Hermione who was swaying slightly and had a pale look on her face. At least she wasn't swaying as much as she was when she first started hovering. Thank Merlin it wasn't a windy day, or she would have just blown off of her broom.

The sound of the chest banging open and releasing the balls indicating the start of the game, drew his attention. All of the players, whizzed in different directions and Draco urged his broom higher, before taking in the sights around him. When he glanced down, he saw Hermione still glued to the same spot that she had started in.

He lowered himself back to where she was and looked at her face. She was pale except for her cheeks which were rosy from the cold. Her fingers were clutched around the broom and she was staring intently straight ahead at what Draco suspected was a tree in the distance.

"Hermione, you know you are going to have to move? Part of playing Quidditch is moving and participating in the game?"

She darted her eyes towards him for a second and then focused back on the tree, "I am up in the air, does that not count as being involved?" She asked.

"No." he answered her certainly. "It does not count at all. Hermione give me your hand," he demanded.

Her eyes darted to him wearily again but this time they stayed on his face, "What?" she asked confused, her brows wrinkling.

"You can either ride the broom on your own or with me, and since you do not seem interested in riding by yourself you will be riding with me," he stated calmly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No!" she shouted at him in horror, "I will not ride with you like a child."

"Then I suggest you start moving and being involved in the game or I will forcibly remove you from your broom and place you safely on to mine." He narrowed his eyes at her, his mouth was set in a grim line, "I will not have you be a sitting duck down here."

He started to rise again leaving her to make her decision, if she did not make a decision in the next ten minutes he would go back down there and fulfill his promise, but he knew he wouldn't have too. She had already straightened her shoulders and had raised her chin. Her fear had seemed to be wiped off of her face and replaced with defiance again. It had seemed he had goaded her a second time into compliance. The first time had been enough to get her one the broom but not enough to make her forget her fear once she had gotten into the air, the second time it seemed had done the trick.

He tore his eyes away from Hermione and took in the sights around him, he had risen to be on a higher plane then the rest of the game. He took in the action and it seemed that the Sheweasel had the Quaffle and was making his way towards her brother, who was now guarding the posts for the other team. He was taunting her, but she paid no intention, she threw the Quaffle and scored the first goal of the game. She stuck her tongue out at Ron and went to retreat back to her side of the field. Blaise beamed at her but she just shrugged in embarrassment and turned to ignore him.

This perked Draco's interest. He looked at Blaise who was staring at the redhead's back. His eyes never leaving her. This was not normal behavior for his friend. Even when Blaise was into a girl, he had never given them much attention or focus outside of a sexual nature. He heard a whizzing and he jerked his head back, a Bludger barely missing his head. He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts, he would focus on Blaise later, right now he needed to focus on the game.

His eyes roamed the field, a glitter in the sunlight catching his eye on the opposite end of the pitch. He got ready to dive towards the Snitch, his eyes carefully tracking the golden movements of the ball. He leaned closer down to the broom handle preparing to dart towards his victory when he heard a cry behind him. He instantly straitened and shot his eyes to the direction of the noise. His eyes widened as he was greeted with the sight of Hermione hanging from her broomstick. Without thinking he dove towards her. He put his arms around her waist as he tried to convince her to let go of the broom.

"Hermione, let go of the broom," he pleaded.

"I…..I can't." Her breath was shaky and he could see the pulse on her neck as it thudded against her throat.

Draco looked around helplessly, but no one except for Theo seemed to notice what was happening. He could see Harry at the other end of the field chasing the Snitch, he could see Ginny making her way towards the goal posts again, and saw Blaise trailing closely behind her. Neville seemed to be staring off into the sky and Luna was flying loops around the outside of the field, muttering to herself about Blibbering Humdingers. All the Slytherin girls hovered in a circle, hands waving animatedly in the air, oblivious to the game around them. He saw Theo move to make his way towards them, but Draco shook his head.

Draco looked back at Hermione and saw the fear that overtook her face. How could a girl who had faced torture, who had faced the Dark Lord head on, and had constantly stood her ground be so scared of something as simple as a broom, as simple as falling, even while knowing that Harry had enchanted the field. She would fall but the enchantment would catch and she would land softly and safely on the ground.

He tried again, "Hermione, please let go."

She just shook her head. Her lips were thin and pale, her face drawn in fear. He looked around one more time before urging his broom up a little higher. His hands were still around her waist, but his face was now level with hers. Her eyes wild with fear. He leaned his head forward and kissed her. His lips tingling as they slowly caressed hers. He felt her cry of surprise against his mouth and he felt the full weight of her as she let go of her broom in surprise. He broke their kiss and hauled her against him and onto his broom. Her back was leaning against his chest and he kept one arm firmly planted on her waist as the other reached around her to grab the broom handle. He cocooned her to his body and slowly made his way down to the ground. He was aware of the cheer that went up above him and knew that Potter had caught the Snitch but he didn't care, his eyes never left Hermione.

They landed and he felt her legs wobble as she tried to take a step away from him. His arm at her waist anchoring her and stabilizing her. She turned towards him, her eyes wide with shock now. They stared entranced at each other, neither one sure what they should say. He slowly saw the color return to her face. He had kissed her to shock her, to get her to let go of the broom, and it had worked, but they had both felt the electricity that had danced across their lips.

He heard someone shout behind them and saw Hermione jerk her body away from him and turn towards the cheers.

"Harry," he heard her say as she rushed towards him, "You played wonderfully." She threw her arms around the golden boy and he spun her good naturedly.

Draco narrowed his eyes. She hadn't even thanked him and was now hugging another boy, the same boy that she had scorned him for before. His fists clenched at his side in anger.

"Oi, I told you it would be your fault that we lost, mate," Blaise crooned, teasingly. One glare from his friend shut him up though.

"Ha!" Pansy exclaimed as she slinked through the now landed players and towards the Slytherin boys. She gleamed at them in triumph like she had caught the Snitch herself. Draco just glared at her but she didn't seem to pay him any attention, as Tracey and Daphne cheered around her. She threw her head back and let out a high pitched squeal. "I have never won anything in my life!" her face was pink with delight and exhilaration as she jumped up and down with her friends. "We must celebrate! That's it, a party at my house tonight!"

Draco felt his anger ebb slightly as he saw the delight etched onto her face. He rolled his eyes at her theatrics. 'Bloody women," he thought to himself, 'she literally sat there and talked to her friends, not even lifting one manicured nail to help her team.' It warmed his heart how happy she was though. Pansy rarely had anything to be happy about and while she might not have helped her team, he couldn't help but believe her when she had said that she had never won anything before. He smiled at her before looking towards Hermione who still had her back to him, stiffening as she felt his gaze land on her.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Hello, everyone. I am SOOOO sorry for how long it has taken me to update this story. I have a whole list of excuses but I am back now. I am hoping to resume updating every two weeks. I do have another story I am working on, so if you are interested go and check it out. I am also looking for a beta (so if anyone is interested please message me) but until then I am sure I have some spelling and grammatical errors. I try though!_

 _Also, I really would like to thank MalfoyDiamond who PM'd me about when I was going to update this story. It really brought the story back into focus for me. So thanks again for giving me the kick in the butt I needed!_

Chapter Six

Hermione could feel his eyes on her back as she trudged back to the Potter household. Harry's arm wrapped around her shoulder as he excitedly talked about plays made during the game with Ron. She wasn't paying attention to Harry, she had never understood a man's need to reiterate events that literally just happened moments ago, but Ron was talking animatedly with him, so she didn't really need to say anything in response. Ron was flinging his hands around him wildly as he rehashed the events leading up to their victory. His cheeks were flushed with excitement and Hermione watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Had it really only been a couple of days ago that she was told she could no longer be with Ron? It felt like it had been years ago and yet, looking at him now a wave of heavy pain hit her. He was such a passionate guy, she had loved that about him once. She had loved the way that Ron was so gentle with her, so caring. He used to be so nervous just holding her hand. His palms would slowly grab for hers and he would gently entwine their fingers, sometimes he would bring their clasped hands to his lips and kiss them. He used to give her the sweetest smiles and write her the most thoughtful notes. All of the memories assaulted her and a fresh wave of pain constricted her heart. Even with all these memories clouding her mind, she didn't feel her palms itch to grab his hand. She didn't wish that it was his arm around her instead of Harry's, all she could feel was Draco's eyes on her. Had their relationship always been like this? She thought back, examining the memories that she had shared with Ron. She replayed every moment and kiss that they had shared and realized with defeat that it was. They had always cared for each other, but everything was gentle, everything was sweet, and everything was just… _comfortable and expected!_

She had started to like Ron third year, he was funny and sweet, and the closest guy that she was around besides Harry, who she thought of like a brother. Looking back it really didn't surprise her that she had developed a crush on him, he was literally the only guy that had paid attention to her. Once Viktor Krum had liked Hermione, it had seemed that Ron had finally noticed that she was actually a girl. He had started paying her more attention and eventually started to like her too. Of course, Ron had had his little stint with Lavender Brown, but Hermione hadn't worried about it. The war had distracted them both and afterwards it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for them to finally have a chance. They were sweet together and it was comfortable, but she had never felt his eyes on her. She had never been so aware of him like she was with Draco. Their kisses never left her lips tingling, he never left her speechless, or her mind so clouded that she couldn't think.

She dared to glance back at Draco and his eyes bore into hers. She quickly turned away from him. Her heart beating faster and her breath quickening. She was glad that they were going to be at Pansy's and Ron's tonight because she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to pretend like he didn't affect her after that kiss.

~0~

"You get used to it, ya know."

Draco started, interrupted from his thoughts, and looked at the redhead next to him. She just nodded her head towards Harry and Hermione, his arm draped casually over her shoulder, like it belonged there. The jealously that raged in his chest was irrational. He frowned. This connection was really getting out of control, he didn't know what to do about it. He had never felt this way towards anyone, but what did he even feel towards Hermione? Protectiveness? She was his, he hadn't been lying when he told her that she was his responsibility now. He relaxed slightly realizing that this was his training. His feelings were foreign but not unexpected. He had been trained since birth to respect and protect his wife. He was the provider and just because Hermione is not who he thought his wife would be, didn't change the fact that she was his wife and he had his duties to her. His feelings had automatically shifted to one of protectiveness towards her. He felt better knowing that his feelings were normal and easily explained.

He could still feel the witch next to him, so he glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Malfoy," Ginny said to him, "I see the way you look at her, your eyes always follow her…"

He just continued to shrug at her and she sighed in annoyance.

"Bloody hell why do you have to make everything so difficult, they are just friends, best friends even. They are so in sync it's scary at times," Ginny admitted to him quietly, "For the longest time I was so jealous of Hermione with him, even though I knew that they wouldn't do anything like that to me, but it didn't stop the jealously. Then one night after the war, they had stayed with us in the Burrow. Ron and Harry shared a room and Hermione and I had. She woke up screaming, and Harry rushed in and just held her. Ron and I just looked on helplessly, we were never able to calm her down, only Harry had ever been able too. He stayed with her the whole night, just holding her and comforting her. It should have made me more jealous, but it didn't. In that moment I understood, they thought of each other like siblings, like family. I don't know if it has to do with the time that they were alone hunting for Horcruxes or if their bond has always been this deep, but I do know that he will always be a part of her life and you need to come to terms with their relationship or you will never be able to have one with her." She was studying him waiting for his reaction. He continued to stare at her passively, so she took a deep breath and continued, "I know that Hermione is the last person you had hoped to be with and I know that you are the last man she would have picked to have a future with, but she is my best friend and she deserves to be happy. She has given up too much for his war to not be happy with the rest of her life. If I hear that you are giving her a hard time, or are being mean to her, I will hex you to the moon and back. Mark my words, Draco, you had better do everything in your power to make that witch over there happy."

He quirked his eyebrows at her, this witch had the gull to threaten him, he smirked. "What about my happiness?"

"I don't give a bloody damn about your happiness," Ginny snarled at him, "I care about her, she is one of the strongest people I know, and now her future is being taken away. She only has us and you, now, and excuse me if I don't feel reassured by that thought."

"What do you mean that we are all she has?" Draco asked, confused.

"That is something that you are going to have to talk to her about," Ginny murmured. She sped up as she tried to get away from him, having said what she needed to, but Draco caught her arm.

"The same goes for you with Blaise, you know," Draco said to her, pulling on her arm so she had to face him, "Don't pine over Harry too much and miss all the effort that he is putting forward to try and make you happy. His attention on you will only last so long while you give him none." His eyes searched hers before he turned to leave.

"It's just hard." Ginny whispered quietly to herself. Draco chose to ignore her and continue to walk back to the house, leaving her to sort out her thoughts.

Once safely back in the comfort of the Potter household, it was decided that they would break before the party and each go to their separate homes to spend their mandated time together and eat dinner. They would then meet at Pansy's house and stay the night.

Everyone was still talking excitedly in the living room when Draco turned to face Hermione, she was actively avoiding him and turned her face away from his, trying to immerse herself in the chatter with her friends. He made his way towards her and stopped directly behind her, she stiffened her back, but still did not acknowledge him. He sighed to himself, 'why was this women so difficult?' He took a step closer so her back pressed against his chest and lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Are you ready to go, little lioness?" He purred in her ear.

He could feel her body shudder involuntarily and he smirked. She turned her head towards him, her eyes narrowed in anger and he had to hold back a laugh. She looked as fierce as a kitten when she scrunched her face like that.

"No," she responded tersely, but even as she responded most of her friends started to make their way towards their partners so they could leave.

He quirked his eyebrow up at her and saw her shoulders slump in defeat.

"Ugh Fine! Let's go Malfoy," She scowled at him.

He grabbed her hand and led her towards the fireplace, casually nodding his goodbyes at the few people left in the living room while Hermione waved at them. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it in the fire while yelling, "Malfoy Estate!" in a calm, clear voice.

He watched the green flames flicker to life and grow in size before dragging Hermione into the fire with him and stepping out of the flames into their own sitting room. He dragged Hermione to the center of the room before whirling on her, his calm mood gone and replaced with anger.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?" his voice was dangerously low as he rounded on her.

"What?" Hermione squeaked, as confusion darted across her face.

"How could you do something so stupid? You put yourself in a compromising position because of your bloody pride. If you can't ride a broom then you do not get on one with the intent to play Quidditch whether you are with friends or not! I offered to sit out with you, why would you have gotten on the broom!?" His loud voice echoed across the room.

Her face reddened before she responded, "I know how to ride a broom."

He laughed at her, "Not bloody well, you may have passed your flying skills, but just barely. You are lacking a basic understanding of the fundamentals, my dear. We are going to start flying lessons straight away. I will not allow a repeat of that situation if I can prevent it."

"What?" she raged at him, "It's your fault that I even got on the broom, you goaded me into doing it?!"

"No," he replied sternly, "you got on the broom because you are too bloody stubborn. You had already made up your mind to play when the Weaselette volunteered to sit out with you, I just helped you actually get on the broom and either way you could have ignored my _goading,"_ he said with a sneer, "but you couldn't stand the thought of actually being bad at anything. Is it tiring always being so perfect?"

"I am far from perfect, but I am most certainly closer than you!"

Draco threw his head back and laughed cruelly at her, "Perhaps you are better than me in some ways, dear wife, but riding a broom is not one of them. The lessons stand. "

"No!" she wailed at him.

Draco drew dangerously closer to her. He towered over her forcing her to have to look up at him. His eyes glinted with danger, but his face was calm and emotionless.

"That was not a request," he said to her harshly.

Her eyebrows flew up, "You can't force me!"

He grabbed her arms roughly, trying to showcase how much stronger and bigger he was than her. "Would you wager on that, my dear?" he mocked. He waited a moment hoping she would get the hint about how serious he was before adding, "I will not have something like that happen again, next time I might not be there to save you."

"Save me!?" Hermione asked incredulously, "You kissed me!"

"Aye, I did," he said, his lips dangerously close to hers, "and in doing so, I saved you. Were you not safely deposited onto my broom? Did I not safely deposit you on the ground? Believe me, the kiss was a last resort. Did you think that I kissed you for the fun of it?" His lips turned into a sneer, he leaned in closer, his lips whispering across hers as he added, "Not yet, anyway."

He drew back his head slowly and smirked when he took in her quickened breathing. He slowly rubbed his hands down the side of her arms, before returning them to his sides. He took a step back and straightened his posture before slowly turning and sauntering out of the room.

'What was this bloody women doing to him?' he asked himself. He had barely been able to control his urge to kiss her when he felt her breath dance across his lips. It must be their bond, he didn't even like the girl but their kiss danced with electricity and sparks. Draco couldn't blame himself if the old magic was at fault, he may be a powerful wizard but even he was no match for old magic. He would just have to keep himself more under control.

He made his way to the kitchen to see when dinner would be ready, so he could gauge how much time he would have to collect himself. Bimble immediately showed up at his side and bowed to him before Draco had even set foot in the kitchen. He was quickly informed that he had an hour before dinner. Draco looked around unsure what to do now. He did not want to go back the way he came and face Hermione again. He had escaped just in time to avoid being hexed, but when her anger caught up with her disbelief, he was in trouble. Avoiding her would be the best option.

He almost snorted at his ridiculousness. He was trying to hide from his wife, his bushy-haired, know-it-all, goody-two-shoes wife. He, the great Draco Malfoy, heir of the Malfoy fortune, former death eater, was running from his wife. To be fair, his wife was not an ordinary witch, she had faced down the death eaters. She had met Voldermort head on and had been the brains behind the golden trio. Draco knew without a doubt that if Hermione had not been the brains behind the entire operation that Voldemort would be in power right now. He may be a powerful wizard, but his wife was a force to be reckoned with.

He made his way towards the library hoping that she would be too angry to even think about reading.

~0~

Hermione stood in the center of the room shaking in rage. How did he always do this to her. Hermione liked to think she normally had a level head but one word from him and she flew to one extreme or the other. He had another thing coming if he thought she was going to be taking flying lessons from him. Maybe, if he insisted she could ask Harry to try and hone in on her skills more.

She breathed in deeply and counted to ten before walking out of the room. She didn't know where she should go. She assumed Draco would be in his potions room but she couldn't sense him at the top of the stairs. This man was causing her to go crazy. She was all riled up and needed to calm down.

As she made her way to the library she started to sense that Draco was there. It was a weird sensation, a strange pull, almost like a magnet, directing her to his location. She didn't know if it was mental, emotional, or a physical connection they shared. Maybe one day she would get the courage to study their connection and learn more about it, but not today.

She really didn't want to see him again but she didn't want to be considered a coward, for if she could sense him, he most certainly could sense her outside the library doors. She paused only a few seconds before she gathered enough courage to push open the carved, wooden door.

He sat in one of the chairs, the fire casting shadows along his face, making him look dark and dangerous. His chin rested in his palm and he was staring intently at a book that was splayed across his lap. He was still wearing his Quidditch gear and the practice shirt hugged his biceps and chest tightly. His leg was crossed and propped on top of the other leg and even in this relaxed position he looked formal and stiff.

Hermione swallowed before making her way further into the room. She stopped right in front of his chair and waited for him to look at her. He was trying to ignore her and barely twitched at her approach. This man had amazing self-control and it really was starting to irritate her. She leaned forward and put her hand on his knee trying to get his attention. She shook it and his head instantly snapped up to glare at her. She swallowed.

"Draco," she said in a mockingly sweet tone, "listen to me, and listen to me well, you don't just get to boss me around! I am a perfectly capable witch, in case you hadn't noticed," her voice was slowly rising with each word, "as you have pointed out many times, I am the reason Harry and Ron did not die, I am part of the reason Voldemort is not in power, and I will not be bossed around by some arrogant, git, who thinks he knows what is best for me! You don't scare me, Draco Malfoy!" She tilted her chin up defiantly as she looked down her nose at him. This isn't what she had intended to do when she walked in here, but seeing him sitting like he was a king had sent fire down her veins. She was not some subject that he could boss around, she was not a timid girl who would just do whatever her husband told her to do. She needed to make that very clear to him.

His eyes flicked over her and narrowed as he took in the sight of her balled fists at her sides. He slowly unfolded himself and rose from the chair. He glared down at her for a few moments and then took a deep breathe visibly trying to calm himself down before he chose to speak.

"Hermione, there are some things that I will not budge on and the flying lessons are one of them. You will be taking them"

Her eyes bulged and her pulse quickened with anger as she took in his words. She had just told him that he didn't get to boss her around and the next words out of his mouth were another order. She couldn't believe his arrogance.

"I don't think you understand what I just told you. You DO NOT get to tell me what to do. You DO NOT get to decide what I want to do and you most certainly DO NOT get to tell me what I need to do," she shot back at him sharply. Her eyes narrowing and her cheeks blossoming to a deep red in anger.

"And I do not think that you are understanding what I am saying, Hermione. You are taking flying lessons. Don't think of it as a demand," he shrugged, "think of it as…..as…..as a way to overall improve your perfect image. A witch that can't fly, honestly, what a silly notion," he finished with a small chuckle.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Hermione shrieked at him, "Are you honestly now insinuating that I am less of a witch because I do not like flying?! You are unbelievable! First, you try to intimidate me and demand I take those bloody lessons from you and now you are insulting me! Is that how you got all of your little cronies in Slytherin to follow orders? You demanded them and intimidated them until they agreed to do whatever you wanted!"

He sneered at her, "They weren't all Slytherins. I got my 'cronies,' as you like to call them to do what I want because of who I am and what power I hold. I don't think of it as intimidation. I think of it as using your resources," he replied sharply.

"You can't just bully me around, Draco, that isn't how marriage works!"

"Oh right," he replied coolly, "I forgot that most people get paired up with someone they hate and then forced to marry them. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject, not everyone can be so well-informed like you."

"I don't hate you," Hermione stammered.

"What?" Draco responded incredulously, his anger immediately fading, "how could you not?"

"I just don't," she responded, "I have never blamed you for your circumstances, you just have always blamed me for mine. I am not going to pretend that I agree with your choices, because you chose to be a Death eater, you chose the wrong side, but I don't hate you, but I most certainly don't like you."

He was speechless as he looked at her. His mouth gaping like a fish before he finally was able to form words. "I never hated you either but being a Death eater was never a choice for me."

She blanched momentarily before sitting herself down in the chair opposite him. "Well great, it's settled then, we don't hate each other," she stated ignoring his last comment.

He startled her by laughing out loud. "Wonderful, what a perfectly great start to a marriage, we don't hate each other."

They both sat in silence staring at the fire, the wood crackling the only sound filling the room. The weight of their admissions hanging heavily on their minds. Their thoughts broken by the library door groaning open and Bimble peaking his head around the door, his long ears straightening at the sight of them. "Dinner iz served, mizzez and miztah Malfoy."

Dinner was awkward to say the least. Both uncomfortable with the sudden truce that they had found in the library. Draco was cordial and polite to her, but there was a coldness that underlined everything he said to her. It unnerved her and she knew he was doing it on purpose. In turn, Hermione decided to acknowledge him as little as possible. They would have to eventually figure out how to talk to each other, the constant fighting was already getting exhausting, but she wasn't going to bring it up tonight. Had they even had a normal conversation that didn't end in a heated exchange? The thought seemed to cast a shadow on the night and Hermione did not think that this party would go well.

After dinner was finished they quickly made their way to Pansy's and Ron's, not wanting to spend an extra minute alone with each other.

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and was amazed at the sight. The house was bright and vibrant. Small knick-knacks lined the shelves and the noise of people and music filled the air. It gave her the same feeling The Burrow did, homely and comforting. She never imagined that someone like Pansy would be comfortable in house like this. It did not seem to match her high-end tastes. She continued to gawk and take in the sights around her before Draco ushered her further into the room. His hand on the small of her back directing her to the group of people in the corner surrounding a muggle stereo.

"Draco!" Pansy cried as she leapt into his arms. "Draco is FINALLY here everyone, we can play that song now!"

She gave Draco a smirk before turning to Harry and demanding that he play the song again. Harry obliged and Hermione could hear the beginning of "We are the Champions," and she groaned inwardly. Of course Harry would have introduced her to this song.

Pansy, grabbed an open bottle of fire whiskey and pretended it was a microphone before belting out the lyrics to Draco.

"We are the champions, my friends, and we'll keep on fighting….til the end! We are the champions, we are the champions! No time for LOSERS!" She pointed at Draco and he went to grab her but she swung out of his reach and jumped on the couch, spilling fire whiskey everywhere. Towering over him, she continued to sing and gloat to him before the song ended and she bounced down to sit on the coach giggling, clearly already tipsy.

"That was quite a performance Pansy, how many times did you rehearse that before we got here?" He asked, fighting a smile.

Pansy just stuck her tongue out at him, "well you were LATE! Honestly, Draco that is the epitome of rudeness!"

"And dancing around gloating about being the champion is not?" He asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh don't be ridiculous Draco, it was all in good fun!" She said as she patted his back and made her way towards Hermione. She gave her a brief hug and then went back to Ron's side asking everyone what they would like to drink for tonight.

Everyone had a fire whiskey in hand, and still laughing at Pansy's theatrics, before it was quickly decided that they would play never have I ever. Another suggestion from Harry, he really needed to stop making suggestions Hermione thought.

They all gathered in a circle on the floor by the fireplace before Blaise took a bottle out of his robes and added two drops to his fire whiskey. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw the bottle clearly. _Veritaserum._ She looked around the circle until she spotted Draco, he gently nodded his head at her, like he knew what she was going to ask.

~0~

Draco saw her widened eyes and panicked expression before he slowly made his way over to her. He stopped next to her and whispered in her ear, "You don't have to take it."

She turned her head to whisper back at him quietly, "That's illegal!"

"Yes, it is, hasn't stopped us before," Draco answered with a shrug.

"You've done this before?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes, it was fairly common at the Slytherin parties."

"Where did he get it from? It's highly regulated and so expensive!"

Draco gave her a pointed look before saying, "Money is not an issue, but he probably brewed it."

"Brewed it!? And you want me to have some?! That is such a complex and complicated potion, even the smallest miniscule amount could have detrimental side effects if brewed wrong." She looked bewildered as the vial was passed around and everyone added some to their drinks. This could turn out to be very bad.

"I have every bit of faith in Zabini," Draco responded, before reaching for the vial that was handed to him. "Blaise and I were the ones who usually brewed it for the parties." He slowly added some drops to his drink before holding out the vial to Hermione. "You don't have to."

Her eyes kept darting back and forth between him and the vial before she straightened her shoulders and took it from him. She gave Blaise a quick glance before adding the mixture to her drink and passing it along. She stared at him before she angled her bottle to him in a salute and took a deep sip.

Draco felt pride as he watched her throat swallowing down the drink. He was definitely a bad influence on her but he found himself amazed that she had trusted him enough to take it. He was proud of the little bookworm stepping outside of her comfort zone. She started coughing as she lowered the bottle from her lips and he smirked. He mimicked her action and raised his bottle to her before raising his bottle to his mouth and downing the whole thing in one go. He lowered his bottle and met her eyes in a sardonic expression. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. He thought she heard her mutter something under her breath, but it only made him grin more.

After everyone had some Veritaserum and drinks were restocked the game started. Pansy went first, naturally, because she was "the champion." Draco had rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness and was about to point out that she hadn't done anything and that half of the people in the room, the ones that had been on her team, were also "champions," but he decided to keep his mouth shut. He enjoyed it too much when she was lording her win over Blaise, or anyone else besides him really.

"Never have I ever had a threesome!" Pansy shouted.

"Way to go straight for it, Pansy." Blaise said sardonically as he lifted his drink to his lips.

Draco, Blaise and Nott, were the only ones that drank during that round.

"Did you all have a threesome together?!" Luna asked Nott in a too loud whisper, "Or with one of them?!"

"No dear, I will not speak for the other two, but only two women for me. Never with another man, I would never consider it, at least not with those _boys,_ " he answered playfully, smirking at Draco for the jab.

Draco just shook his head in the negative before taking another sip of his drink. This was going to be a long and interesting night. He was going to find out some things that he knew he didn't want to know about. Thank Salazar for booze.

Blaise just shrugged, not denying his interest in men and pointed to Ron. "Your turn"

Ron turned a pale pink color as his eyes darted around the room, while he tried to think of something.

"Never have I ever gotten a blowie from another bloke." Blaise was the only person to drink at that one.

Everyone looked at Neville, "Never….have…have...I…have…I," he stuttered.

"It's okay dear, go on and say it." Tracy soothed.

"Never have I ever had sex." Neville exclaimed his ears turning a bright red.

Everyone drank to that one, while eyeing other people in the circle whom they had sexual experiences with.

"Never have I ever loved a significant other." Tracy said. All of the Slytherins drank.

"What?" exclaimed Luna, "You haven't loved any of your significant others, what, how?!"

"We always knew we were going to have an arranged marriage, boyfriends were just a distraction, never permanent. It would have been silly for us to have fallen in love," Daphne scoffed like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"That's horrible," Luna said in response. She shook her head in disbelief before saying, "Never have I ever had sex in a bed."

Blaise sputtered and coughed on his drink, "You lucky bastard, Theo." Ginny elbowed him in the stomach.

Theo turned to him and smirked, "Never have I ever kissed a member of the same sex."

Hermione looked down at her drink, she didn't want to drink but she could feel the truth serum raising her hand with the glass to her lips.

"Granger, aren't so innocent after all. Who was it?" Draco asked earnestly.

Hermione bit her lip to keep from answering. "It was me," Ginny shouted and clasped a hand over her mouth her eyes wide with horror. "I'm sorry 'mione, I couldn't stop it."

Everyone was looking at them in interest and Blaise and Draco just high-fived.

Harry spoke for them, "It was a party, spin the bottle, don't be a prat."

The game went on for a little longer, each person listing a more and more explicit sexual experience before the game got too awkward. The tension was thick as people eyed over ex-lovers and spouses started getting jealous, pulling their partners closer as if to say 'mine.'

"Maybe we should chose a different game?" Neville suggested, likely the only person still sober at the party.

"Great idea Neville dear," Tracy cooed. "What about just truth and dare?"

Everyone nodded their agreement, they decided to play a truth and dare mash-up. You spun the bottle and the person that the bottle landed on was the person you asked. They reasoned it was fairer that way.

Tracy spun the bottle first. The glass pointed directly at Harry. "Harry, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What is the most rule-breaking thing you did in school?"

Hermione huffed at the question.' What rule didn't they break at Hogwarts' she thought to herself 'it was amazing that they weren't expelled.'

"Probably drink Polyjuice potion and pretend to be Crabbe and Goyle in second year."

"You brewed Polyjuice potion?" Blaise asked with interest.

"No, Hermione did. It was brilliant."

"Wait, why did you want to be Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Oh..." Harry said sheepishly, "We wanted to know if Draco was the Heir of Slytherin… so ya…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"My, my," Draco said in Hermione's ear, "that is interesting. I am learning so much about you tonight, Granger."

Hermione just glared at him and watched as the bottle landed on Ron. He chose truth as well.

"Were you in love with Hermione Granger?" Daphne asked interestingly.

"No," Ron answered easily, he looked at Hermione sheepishly, "I loved Hermione but I was never IN love with her.

Hermione could feel her whole face catch on fire. She bit her lip as images of their relationship flashed in her mind. He wasn't ever in love with her? She thought on her relationship for the second time that day and realized that she had felt the same way. She had known, but again Ron was safe and after the war she had wanted to feel safe and they did love each other, it just wasn't an all-consuming type of love. Hermione felt Draco begin to rub her back soothingly. She just nodded at Ron who was looking at her with concern.

"Way to go in for the kill, Daphne." Draco said.

She just shrugged in response, "I was curious."

A few more rounds went by, everyone asking basic questions to avoid hurting anymore feelings.

"Truth or Dare," Blaise asked Draco.

"Dare," he said. This was the first dare of the night.

"I dare you to undress and stay naked for the rest of the game."

Draco shrugged as he undressed. Pulling off his shirt to reveal his flat stomach and he slowly unbuttoned his trousers.

Hermione's eyes were large as she tried to stare straight ahead and not at the man beside her, who was undressing in front of everyone. "Seriously, you all are okay with this?"

"We have seen it enough in the Slytherin common room, doesn't faze us anymore," replied Tracy, "actually, we have seen all of them naked too many times to count."

"To be fair, it wasn't just us getting naked," Blaise added with a wink at Tracy.

Draco threw his trousers and his black boxers at Hermione, "Hold those for me, love, will you?"

He sat down close to Hermione, who sat as still as a statue. She could feel the heat from his body radiate off of him. She tried to shift further away from him, but he noticed and put his arm around her, pulling her back to him, the side of his body flush with hers. She sat wide-eyed and stiff, trying to avoid Draco from pulling her even closer.

Ginny spun and dared Blaise to also get naked. This party was taking a turn for the worse. Hermione thought about how she should probably call it a night, but she could feel Draco next to her, his arrogance coming off of him in waves and she knew she couldn't leave without him teasing her for it mercilessly. 'What Granger can't handle a little nudity, the sight of my body so glorious that you can't even stay in the same room as me without wanting to jump my bones?' She could imagine him taunting her.

The bottle landed on her.

"Truth."

"Hermione," said Pansy with a devilish grin, "How do you feel about Draco? Do you like what you see?"

Hermione's eyes went wider. She instinctively turned her head and regretted it instantly. He was completely naked and had his legs drawn out in front of him. He clearly had no qualms about being naked 'and he shouldn't' thought Hermione. He was gorgeous. His legs and arms toned. He was sporting abs and he had a little treasure trail that led down to his lengthy male organ that was displayed for everyone to see. Hermione gasped and instantly closed her eyes. Her face was molten lava but her lips moved on their own accord, the truth serum still coursing within her veins.

"Yes, I find him very handsome and masculine. Looking at him right now makes me want to give him a proper snogging. He looks like a Greek god, I honestly don't know how someone can look so perfect." She kept her head down and tried to avoid everyone's gaze while Daphne burst out laughing.

"You owe me one, Draco."

Draco nudged her and pointed at the bottle, she gave it a halfhearted spin before reverting her eyes to her lap again. She quickly glanced at the bottle while it slowed down and almost fainted when she saw who it landed on. Fate was not on her side tonight. She huffed before asking, "Truth or dare, Malfoy?"

"Oh so we are back to Malfoy after that lovely revelation? I'll go with truth, Little Lion."

"Tell me a secret that people would be surprised to find out about you?"

He thought for a moment before answering, "I am a Legilimens."

"Really?" Hermione asked amazed. She turned her heads toward him in interest before remembering that he was naked and quickly turning away again in embarrassment. Her face was going to be permanently red by the end of this night.

He didn't answer and instead spun the bottle. The game continued until most of the players except for Hermione, Neville, and Luna were naked. Hermione kept her eyes trained on the ceiling above everyone's heads on looking down for her turn. When it was her turn to spin again it landed on Ginny. Ginny chose truth.

"How do you feel about the pull from the binding?"

Ginny scrunched up her face in confusion, "What?"

"Ya know, that pull compass like feeling, knowing where they are, how the other person is feeling, that thing?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, 'Mione, I don't feel any of that."

Hermione looked around and saw confusion scrunched on most of the faces in the circle.

"I know what you are talking about, Hermione." Luna piped up. "I can feel Theo's emotions but only if they are very strong though. You said you can feel where he is, like a compass? That is fascinating."

Hermione looked at Draco who had his mask of indifference on, but everyone else was eying them wearily. She had thought that they were all the same, that the old magic was causing them to have that magnetism, but apparently she was wrong. It was just her and Draco that felt it and Luna and Theo, but that didn't really reassure her.

That game died down a little at that admission. They all kind of stared into silence, not really knowing what to say and warily eyeing where Draco and Hermione sat, his hand rubbing small circles on her back reassuringly.

Ron broke the silence by drunkenly shouting that he was really curious to see what Luna looked like naked.

Theo immediately came to Luna's rescue and shouted that Ron would never see Luna naked. This caused Pansy to jump up and immediately defend Ron. Luna jumped up trying to pull Theo away.

"I don't mind it," said Luna, "it's flattering really, you don't have to defend me."

"It is not okay," Theo shouted back at her, "He wants to see you naked, you're my girl, and no one gets to see you naked but me!"

That caused Luna to start shouting back at him about how ridiculous he was being, everyone was seeing him naked right now and being naked wasn't a crime, being naked was natural. Meanwhile, Pansy pounced on Ron about how he had wanted to see Luna naked. "What, you don't like what you see? I'm not good enough for you? Figures." This caused Tracy and Daphne to jump to their friend's defense. Ron, in his drunken state, was trying to backpedal his words, which caused Harry to jump to his defense. Everyone seemed to be shouting and tempers were rising, the yelling growing louder and more heated.

Draco quickly pulled Hermione up from her seated position and pulled her towards the stairs. She had tried to protest but he had been insistent about leaving the room. He pulled her into the first bedroom he could find and quickly eyed her up and down and ran his hands along her sides.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, "Everyone was just yelling, of course I am fine, don't be ridiculous."

She put her hands against his chest to push him away from her. Her hands felt the hard planes of his chest beneath her touch. Her eyes were drawn to where her hands rested on his chest, her sun-kissed skin against his much paler pallor was a sexy site. She had to bite her lip from moaning. He really was a beautiful specimen. He pulled her closer and angled his face downwards, before Hermione broke out of her trance and pulled away from him.

"Are you going to put your clothes back on?"

"No, they are downstairs."

"And you can't go get them…. Because….?"

"Because everyone is fighting and I am not going to leave you here alone."

"Fine," Hermione huffed, "Although you are being ridiculous, it isn't a real fight, just shouting."

She pulled a blanket off of the guest bed before holding it out for him. He didn't take it, he just shook his head back and forth in denial.

"Ugh, you are like a child!" She groaned out in frusturation before stepping closer and wrapping the blanket around his body. Her hands on either side of him while she tied the end into a knot around his hips. Her hands burned with awareness of him, burned with want to trail them lower. She thought she heard him groan before the sound of someone stomping up the stairs, caused her to turn away from him. With her back to him she took in the room. The bed was smaller than the one that they shared but there was a small love seat in the corner and she smiled in triumph.

"Well since you have ended tonight's activities early, then I suggest we go to bed. You can take the loveseat." She pointed to the corner.

He slinked up next to her, "Who said tonight's activities have to end?" He bent down to whisper across her neck. "The way I see it, the fun is just getting started."

Hermione gulped and stepped further away from him towards one side of the bed. "I don't think so, Malfoy, nice try." She started to untuck the covers and pull them to the side.

"Well nice try to you too, little lioness, the rules are we share a bed." He went to the other side of the bed and started turning down the covers.

"You are such a prat." She crawled into bed fully clothed and laid flat on her back. He crawled in next to her their sides touching as they laid stiffly in bed. They could still hear the shouts from downstairs dying down. Some couples trudging up to bed heavily, still bickering outside of their doors, before the house fell silence. All she could hear was the sound of her and Draco breathing in unison.

Hermione did what she always did when she was uncomfortable, she talked. "Are you really a Legilimens?"

"Yes." He responded curtly.

"Can you tech me?" She asked earnestly.

"Ahh so now you want my tutelage? I will make a deal with you Hermione," He said as he turned onto his side to look at her face. "I will train you, but only if you also allow me to train you on riding a broom, as well. It is all or nothing."

Hermione was silent as she thought about it. Where else was she going to be able learn legilimency? Hermione's biggest weakness was her thirst for knowledge. It often caused her to do all sorts of dangerous and silly things to quench her thirst for it. She could sense the foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach when she met his gaze. "Deal, Malfoy."


End file.
